Wabash National (NYSE:WNC) Trading 5.6% Higher – Still a Buy?

Wabash National Co. (NYSE:WNC) traded up 5.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $11.78 and last traded at $11.78. 395,613 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 1,186,852 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.16.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, DA Davidson decreased their target price on Wabash National from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th.

Wabash National Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $506.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.83 and a beta of 1.64. The business has a fifty day moving average of $12.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.93.

Wabash National (NYSE:WNC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.04). Wabash National had a negative net margin of 14.59% and a positive return on equity of 14.72%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.07 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Wabash National Co. will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wabash National Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. Wabash National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -4.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wabash National

In other news, SVP Michael N. Pettit sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.19, for a total value of $25,785.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 117,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,015,132.13. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Wabash National

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WNC. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Wabash National by 121.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 163,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,132,000 after purchasing an additional 89,522 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in shares of Wabash National by 46.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 160,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,089,000 after buying an additional 51,274 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wabash National during the third quarter valued at approximately $192,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Wabash National during the fourth quarter valued at $644,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Wabash National by 75.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 84,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 36,490 shares during the last quarter. 97.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wabash National Company Profile

Wabash National Corporation provides connected solutions for the transportation, logistics, and distribution industries primarily in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Transportation Solutions and Parts & Services. The Transportation Solutions segment designs and manufactures transportation-related equipment and products dry and refrigerated van trailers, platform trailers, tank trailers, and truck-mounted tanks; truck bodies for dry-freight transportation; cargo and cargo XL bodies for commercial applications; refrigerated truck bodies; platform truck bodies; and used trailers, as well as laminated hardwood oak flooring products.