Wabtec $WAB Position Reduced by Valley National Advisers Inc.

Valley National Advisers Inc. lessened its position in Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) by 20.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,068 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 2,090 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Wabtec were worth $2,317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Welch & Forbes LLC lifted its stake in Wabtec by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 2,050 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Wabtec by 0.8% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,317 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Wabtec by 4.5% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 851 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Wabtec by 1.6% during the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,471 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Wabtec by 3.4% during the second quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,141 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on WAB. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Wabtec from $305.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised Wabtec from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Stephens raised their price objective on Wabtec from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Wabtec from $308.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Wabtec from $338.00 to $334.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.18.

Wabtec Price Performance

NYSE:WAB opened at $272.08 on Friday. Wabtec has a one year low of $194.93 and a one year high of $306.64. The company has a market cap of $45.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $286.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $276.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The transportation company reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.73 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Wabtec had a net margin of 11.20% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Wabtec will post 10.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Wabtec Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 17th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Wabtec’s dividend payout ratio is 15.40%.

Insider Activity at Wabtec

In other Wabtec news, EVP Gregory Sbrocco sold 952 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $285,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,043 shares in the company, valued at $6,312,900. This trade represents a 4.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael Fetsko sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.22, for a total value of $952,965.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 37,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,960,563.60. This represents a 8.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,452 shares of company stock worth $1,903,524. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Wabtec Profile

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation, doing business as Wabtec (NYSE: WAB), is a global provider of equipment, systems, digital solutions and services for the freight and passenger rail industries. The company develops technologies intended to improve the safety, efficiency, reliability and sustainability of rail transportation.

Wabtec’s products and services include locomotives, locomotive components and modernization programs, braking systems, train control and signaling equipment, power and propulsion systems, and advanced digital solutions.