Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (NYSE:WAB) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Co. (NYSE:WAB)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $203.04 and last traded at $202.38, with a volume of 35652 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $201.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stephens lifted their target price on Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $181.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.30.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $34.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.34, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a fifty day moving average of $189.71 and a 200 day moving average of $172.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (NYSE:WAB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.13. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 10.25%. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Co. will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.33%.

Insider Transactions at Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies

In other news, VP David L. Deninno sold 875 shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.70, for a total value of $165,112.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 55,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,444,922.40. The trade was a 1.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO John A. Mastalerz, Jr. sold 2,796 shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.71, for a total transaction of $558,389.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,134,951.93. The trade was a 32.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,393 shares of company stock worth $9,350,243 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies by 55.0% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 155 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies by 3.4% during the third quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,357 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies by 26.2% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 568 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies by 3.4% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 4,701 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $743,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its position in Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies by 10.4% during the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,820 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. 91.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Company Profile

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides technology-based locomotives, equipment, systems, and services for the freight rail and passenger transit industries worldwide. It offers diesel-electric, battery, and liquid natural gas-powered locomotives; engines, electric motors, and propulsion systems; and marine and mining products.