Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $270.00 and last traded at $266.3350, with a volume of 112855 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $256.05.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WAB. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $290.00 price objective (down from $300.00) on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of Wabtec from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $262.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on shares of Wabtec from $230.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $272.08.

Wabtec Stock Up 3.8%

The company has a market capitalization of $45.24 billion, a PE ratio of 38.91, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50 day moving average is $248.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $223.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The transportation company reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.02. Wabtec had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 14.12%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.86 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. Wabtec has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.050-10.450 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Wabtec will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Wabtec Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This is an increase from Wabtec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Wabtec’s dividend payout ratio is 18.16%.

Wabtec declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 11th that allows the company to repurchase $1.20 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the transportation company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wabtec news, CFO John A. Olin sold 11,000 shares of Wabtec stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total value of $2,896,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 60,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,926,227.10. This trade represents a 15.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Rafael Santana sold 1,798 shares of Wabtec stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.71, for a total transaction of $441,786.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 118,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,177,816.79. The trade was a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,512 shares of company stock worth $8,160,028. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wabtec

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WAB. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Wabtec in the 4th quarter worth $409,039,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,965,503 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,700,238,000 after acquiring an additional 1,344,744 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 55.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,069,340 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $659,939,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095,083 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 68.6% in the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,205,098 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $442,056,000 after acquiring an additional 896,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 360.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 885,197 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $188,945,000 after acquiring an additional 692,773 shares during the last quarter. 91.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Wabtec

Wabtec Corporation (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation) is a global provider of equipment, systems and services for the rail industry. The company supplies products and solutions to freight railroads, transit agencies and other industrial operators, focusing on technologies that improve the performance, safety and efficiency of locomotives and rail networks. Wabtec’s business spans new equipment manufacturing, aftermarket parts and services, and digital and control systems for rail operations.

Product and service offerings include locomotive systems and components, braking and air systems, propulsion and traction equipment, signaling and control technologies, and a range of aftermarket services such as maintenance, remanufacturing, parts distribution and fleet modernization.