Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

WAB has been the topic of a number of other reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on Wabtec from $231.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $240.00 target price (up from $220.00) on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Wabtec from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Wabtec from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $201.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.71.

Wabtec Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:WAB opened at $191.93 on Friday. Wabtec has a 12-month low of $151.81 and a 12-month high of $216.10. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $203.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.45. The company has a market capitalization of $32.81 billion, a PE ratio of 28.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.09. Wabtec had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 10.92%. The business had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Wabtec will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wabtec Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. Wabtec’s payout ratio is presently 14.93%.

Insider Transactions at Wabtec

In other Wabtec news, CTO Eric Gebhardt sold 6,151 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.39, for a total transaction of $1,244,900.89. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 18,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,784,085.83. The trade was a 24.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gina Trombley sold 4,299 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.00, for a total value of $868,398.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,766,592. The trade was a 23.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,222 shares of company stock worth $3,083,767 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wabtec

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PFS Partners LLC grew its stake in Wabtec by 70.4% during the 2nd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 121 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 44.2% in the 2nd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 163 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 30.2% in the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 207 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wabtec in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 125.3% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 223 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.69% of the company’s stock.

Wabtec Company Profile

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides technology-based locomotives, equipment, systems, and services for the freight rail and passenger transit industries worldwide. It offers diesel-electric, battery, and liquid natural gas-powered locomotives; engines, electric motors, and propulsion systems; and marine and mining products.