Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Co. (NYSE:WAB) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Co. (NYSE:WAB) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $175.30.

WAB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $181.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Stephens increased their target price on Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:WAB opened at $199.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $188.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 1.30. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies has a 52-week low of $114.45 and a 52-week high of $202.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.23 billion, a PE ratio of 33.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.27.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (NYSE:WAB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $2.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies will post 7.61 EPS for the current year.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies news, Director Albert J. Neupaver sold 35,722 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.70, for a total transaction of $6,740,741.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 614,447 shares in the company, valued at $115,946,148.90. This represents a 5.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 stock was sold at an average price of $199.71, for a total value of $558,389.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,134,951.93. This trade represents a 32.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 53,562 shares of company stock worth $10,040,379. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WAB. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies by 17.4% during the 1st quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 7,727 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,146 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies by 59,168.4% during the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 11,261 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,641,000 after buying an additional 11,242 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies by 26.2% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 568 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 46,343 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,325,000 after acquiring an additional 1,729 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,357 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,534,000 after acquiring an additional 2,457 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.69% of the company’s stock.

About Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies

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.