Covea Finance Sells 29,000 Shares of Wabtec $WAB

Covea Finance cut its position in Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) by 28.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,246 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 29,000 shares during the period. Covea Finance’s holdings in Wabtec were worth $15,421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAB. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 116,329 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,304,832 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $462,057,000 after acquiring an additional 43,376 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its position in Wabtec by 68.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,205,098 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $442,056,000 after acquiring an additional 896,900 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Wabtec by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,974,257 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $393,252,000 after acquiring an additional 381,728 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Wabtec by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,718,241 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $344,405,000 after purchasing an additional 19,952 shares in the last quarter. 91.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wabtec Trading Down 0.6%

WAB stock opened at $235.68 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Wabtec has a twelve month low of $151.81 and a twelve month high of $266.27. The company has a market cap of $40.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.51, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $244.09 and a 200-day moving average of $217.69.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.86 billion. Wabtec had a return on equity of 14.12% and a net margin of 10.48%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.68 earnings per share. Wabtec has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.050-10.450 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Wabtec will post 8.54 EPS for the current year.

Wabtec announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.20 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the transportation company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wabtec Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Wabtec

In other Wabtec news, insider Sameer Gaur sold 1,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.62, for a total value of $302,013.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,155,904.54. This trade represents a 8.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gina Trombley sold 4,013 shares of Wabtec stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.87, for a total transaction of $970,624.31. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,347,722.67. This represents a 22.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 31,512 shares of company stock worth $8,160,028 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on WAB shares. Stephens boosted their price objective on Wabtec from $230.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Wolfe Research upgraded Wabtec from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Wabtec from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Wabtec from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wabtec in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wabtec currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $269.00.

Wabtec 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.