Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Wabtec $WAB

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 196,666 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,611 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Wabtec worth $49,149,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WAB. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Wabtec in the first quarter worth $25,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its position in Wabtec by 125.9% during the fourth quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 131 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 122.0% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. McMillan Office Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wabtec during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Wabtec in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wabtec news, insider Sameer Gaur sold 1,082 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.50, for a total transaction of $285,107.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 11,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,158,047.50. This trade represents a 8.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Rafael Santana sold 1,163 shares of Wabtec stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.06, for a total value of $303,612.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 124,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,391,541.62. The trade was a 0.93% decrease in their position. 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 90 days, insiders sold 5,734 shares of company stock valued at $1,504,571. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WAB shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wabtec in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $290.00 price objective (down from $300.00) on shares of Wabtec in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $318.00 target price on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $303.00 target price on shares of Wabtec in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Stephens raised Wabtec to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Wabtec has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $293.36.

Wabtec Stock Performance

Shares of Wabtec stock opened at $261.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $44.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.04, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $264.30 and its 200 day moving average is $252.83. Wabtec has a 1 year low of $184.26 and a 1 year high of $284.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Wabtec had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 14.52%. Wabtec’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.28 EPS. Wabtec has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.250-10.650 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Wabtec will post 10.64 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Wabtec’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.54%.

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.