Erste Asset Management GmbH Grows Stake in Wabtec $WAB

Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) by 24.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 298,115 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 58,202 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.18% of Wabtec worth $80,088,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised 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 valued at $1,700,238,000 after acquiring an additional 1,344,744 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Wabtec by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,658,040 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,634,609,000 after purchasing an additional 197,610 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Wabtec by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,366,157 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $928,249,000 after purchasing an additional 38,029 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Wabtec by 3.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,304,183 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $662,390,000 after purchasing an additional 116,329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Wabtec by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,476,003 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $528,503,000 after purchasing an additional 270,905 shares during the last quarter. 91.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Wabtec news, CEO Rafael Santana sold 1,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.04, for a total value of $347,783.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 120,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,060,635.52. The trade was a 0.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Eric Gebhardt sold 7,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.27, for a total transaction of $2,124,817.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 19,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,731,918.31. This trade represents a 27.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,834 shares of company stock valued at $4,874,977. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wabtec Price Performance

WAB opened at $297.93 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $276.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $262.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Wabtec has a 1 year low of $184.26 and a 1 year high of $306.64. The firm has a market cap of $50.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.04, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.93.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $2.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. Wabtec had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 10.59%.The business’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.27 earnings per share. Wabtec has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.600-10.900 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Wabtec will post 10.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wabtec Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. Wabtec’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WAB shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Wabtec from $318.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Wabtec from $311.00 to $341.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Wabtec from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Wabtec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $284.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $313.36.

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.