National Pension Service Purchases 3,218 Shares of Wabtec $WAB

National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 288,609 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 3,218 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.17% of Wabtec worth $61,604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. CI Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 6.1% during the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 865 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $173,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel grew its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 2,051 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $438,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 1.3% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,082 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $818,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 549 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 460 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. 91.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised Wabtec from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $262.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Wall Street Zen cut Wabtec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price target (down from $300.00) on shares of Wabtec in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $318.00 price target on shares of Wabtec in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $303.00 price target on shares of Wabtec in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Wabtec has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $289.82.

Wabtec Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WAB opened at $261.27 on Friday. Wabtec has a 52 week low of $184.26 and a 52 week high of $275.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.33 billion, a PE ratio of 36.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $259.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.09. Wabtec had a return on equity of 14.52% and a net margin of 10.52%.The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Wabtec has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.250-10.650 EPS. Analysts predict that Wabtec will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wabtec Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given 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 is Friday, May 22nd. Wabtec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.54%.

Wabtec announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan 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 plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Gina Trombley sold 4,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.87, for a total value of $970,624.31. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,347,722.67. This trade represents a 22.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Rafael Santana sold 1,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.77, for a total value of $306,764.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 127,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,648,083.82. The trade was a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 67,191 shares of company stock valued at $17,922,608. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

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.