Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 19,952 Shares of Wabtec $WAB

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,718,241 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,952 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Wabtec were worth $344,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Wabtec in the 2nd quarter valued at $347,194,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Wabtec in the second quarter valued at about $121,612,000. Aviva PLC grew its stake in shares of Wabtec by 7,960.0% in the second quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 527,685 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $110,471,000 after acquiring an additional 521,138 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Wabtec by 2.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,930,893 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,172,532,000 after acquiring an additional 493,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 434,401 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Wabtec from $258.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Wabtec from $230.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Wabtec in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Wabtec from $228.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wabtec in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $269.00.

Wabtec Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of WAB opened at $251.64 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $239.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.08. 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 has a one year low of $151.81 and a one year high of $266.27. The company has a market cap of $42.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.99.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last issued 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. Wabtec had a return on equity of 14.12% and a net margin of 10.48%.The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Wabtec has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.050-10.450 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Wabtec will post 8.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wabtec Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a positive change 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.16%.

Wabtec announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 11th that allows the company to buyback $1.20 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to reacquire up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wabtec

In related news, insider Rogerio Mendonca sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.21, for a total value of $924,735.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 10,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,668,785.21. The trade was a 25.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregory Sbrocco sold 952 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.43, for a total value of $246,025.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,159 shares in the company, valued at $5,468,120.37. This trade represents a 4.31% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 33,192 shares of company stock worth $8,379,272 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.