LGT Group Foundation Invests $403,000 in Wabtec $WAB

LGT Group Foundation bought a new stake in Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,030 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $403,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Wabtec during the 2nd quarter valued at $347,194,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in Wabtec in the second quarter worth $121,612,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 2.5% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,930,893 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,172,532,000 after purchasing an additional 493,437 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 36.8% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,614,789 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $345,371,000 after purchasing an additional 434,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Wabtec by 24.0% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,974,257 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $393,252,000 after buying an additional 381,728 shares in the last quarter. 91.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Susquehanna set a $300.00 price target on Wabtec in a report on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Wabtec from $258.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Wabtec in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Wabtec from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $269.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wabtec

In related news, insider Nalin Jain sold 7,936 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider owned 6,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,680,668.76. This represents a 55.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Rogerio Mendonca sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.21, for a total value of $924,735.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,101 shares in the company, valued at $2,668,785.21. The trade was a 25.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 33,192 shares of company stock valued at $8,379,272 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wabtec Trading Down 0.2%

WAB opened at $246.53 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $240.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $215.52. Wabtec has a fifty-two week low of $151.81 and a fifty-two week high of $266.27. The company has a market cap of $42.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.86 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wabtec will post 8.54 earnings per share 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 given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Wabtec’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Wabtec’s dividend payout ratio is 18.16%.

Wabtec announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 11th that permits the company to repurchase $1.20 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.