Wabtec $WAB is Varenne Capital Partners’ 4th Largest Position

Varenne Capital Partners reduced its position in shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) by 5.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 262,242 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 14,836 shares during the period. Wabtec accounts for about 10.0% of Varenne Capital Partners’ holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Varenne Capital Partners owned approximately 0.15% of Wabtec worth $52,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Colonial Trust Advisors lifted its position in shares of Wabtec by 454.5% during the 2nd quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors now owns 122 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its position in shares of Wabtec by 12,800.0% during the third quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 129 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Motco lifted its holdings in Wabtec by 6,600.0% during the third quarter. Motco now owns 134 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in Wabtec by 370.6% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 160 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Capital Inc. grew its stake in Wabtec by 18,900.0% in the 3rd quarter. North Capital Inc. now owns 190 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. 91.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on WAB. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Wabtec from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $258.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Stephens boosted 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. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Wabtec from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Wabtec from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $269.00.

Wabtec Price Performance

WAB opened at $260.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $237.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $213.49. Wabtec has a twelve month low of $151.81 and a twelve month high of $266.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $44.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.17, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.99.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The transportation company reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. Wabtec’s revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Wabtec has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.050-10.450 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Wabtec will post 8.54 EPS for the current year.

Wabtec Increases Dividend

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

Wabtec declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to repurchase $1.20 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John A. Olin sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $2,896,300.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 60,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,926,227.10. This represents a 15.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nalin Jain sold 7,936 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.09, for a total value of $2,095,818.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 6,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,680,668.76. This represents a 55.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 40,211 shares of company stock valued at $9,885,467 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wabtec Company Profile

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.