Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (NYSE:WAB) Hits New 12-Month High at $177.51

Shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Co. (NYSE:WAB) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $177.51 and last traded at $176.73, with a volume of 44357 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.72.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAB has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $160.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $183.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.90.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $31.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $163.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.69.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (NYSE:WAB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The transportation company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.08. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies had a net margin of 9.94% and a return on equity of 12.05%. The firm had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Co. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 15.63%.

Insider Transactions at Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies

In other news, Director Brian Hehir sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.62, for a total transaction of $161,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,754,432.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Alicia Hammersmith sold 4,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.54, for a total value of $690,136.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $928,017.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian Hehir sold 1,000 shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.62, for a total value of $161,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,754,432.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,392 shares of company stock valued at $2,754,390 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings 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 worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies by 4.3% in the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,201 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies by 3.4% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 4,701 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $743,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank raised its stake in Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies by 4.4% in the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 3,699 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies by 2.3% in the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 11,522 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,821,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. 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.