Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (NYSE:WAB) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Co. (NYSE:WAB)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $207.70 and last traded at $207.03, with a volume of 854088 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $205.65.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WAB. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $181.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $225.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $188.50.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $196.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $181.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.59 billion, a PE ratio of 34.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.27.

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (NYSE:WAB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.13. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies had a net margin of 10.25% and a return on equity of 12.52%. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Co. will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies

In other news, Director Albert J. Neupaver sold 35,722 shares of the business’s 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 $6,740,741.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 614,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $115,946,148.90. The trade was a 5.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO John A. Mastalerz, Jr. sold 2,796 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.71, for a total transaction of $558,389.16. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,134,951.93. The trade was a 32.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,393 shares of company stock worth $9,350,243 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies in the third quarter valued at $61,474,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $24,630,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies during the third quarter worth about $7,128,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies by 88.8% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,811 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,031,000 after buying an additional 14,959 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies by 5.2% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 278,729 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $50,665,000 after acquiring an additional 13,683 shares in the last quarter. 91.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.