Wabash National (NYSE:WNC) Lifted to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Wabash National (NYSE:WNC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday.

Wabash National Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WNC opened at $25.36 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Wabash National has a 1 year low of $20.09 and a 1 year high of $30.07. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.86. The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.27 and a beta of 1.58.

Wabash National (NYSE:WNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $596.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $633.68 million. Wabash National had a return on equity of 46.87% and a net margin of 9.12%. Wabash National’s quarterly revenue was down 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Wabash National will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wabash National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 3rd. Wabash National’s payout ratio is 6.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wabash National news, Director Priyadarshi Sudhanshu sold 1,010 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total transaction of $27,330.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $172,805.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Priyadarshi Sudhanshu sold 1,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total value of $27,330.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $172,805.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Larry J. Magee sold 3,086 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total value of $81,779.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 114,146 shares in the company, valued at $3,024,869. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wabash National

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Wabash National in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Wabash National during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in Wabash National by 61.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Wabash National during the first quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in Wabash National by 451.5% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 1,639 shares in the last quarter. 97.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wabash National Company Profile

Wabash National Corporation provides connected solutions for the transportation, logistics, and distribution industries primarily in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Transportation Solutions and Parts & Services. The Transportation Solutions segment designs and manufactures transportation-related equipment and products dry and refrigerated van trailers, platform trailers, tank trailers, and truck-mounted tanks; truck bodies for dry-freight transportation; cargo and cargo XL bodies for commercial applications; refrigerated truck bodies; platform truck bodies; and used trailers, as well as laminated hardwood oak flooring products.