Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation WAB,operating as Wabtec Corporation, continues to benefit from strong performance across its Freight and Transit segments. Due to the tailwinds, WAB shares have performed impressively on the bourse. If you have not taken advantage of its share price appreciation yet, it’s time to do so.

Let’s delve deeper.

Factors Favoring WAB Stock

Robust Price Performance: The company’s price trend reveals that its shares have surged 80.1% over the past year, surpassing the industry’s 69.4% decline.

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Northward Estimate Revisions: The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings per share has been revised upward by 1.04% over the past 60 days for the fourth quarter of 2024. For 2025, the consensus mark for earnings per share has moved 3.13% north in the same time frame. The favorable estimate revisions indicate brokers’ confidence in the stock.

Solid Zacks Rank: WAB currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Bullish Industry Rank: The industry to which Wabtec belongs currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 24 (out of 251). Such a favorable rank places it in the top 10% of Zacks Industries.Studies show that 50% of a stock price movement is directly related to the performance of the industry group it belongs to.

A mediocre stock within a strong group is likely to outclass a robust stock in a weak industry. Reckoning the industry’s performance becomes imperative.

Positive Earnings Surprise History: Wabtec has an encouraging earnings surprise history. The company's earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters (missed the mark in the remaining quarter), delivering an average surprise of 9.5%.

Growth Factors: WAB is boosting its operational efficiency through a strategic partnership with KTZ, the National Railway Company of Kazakhstan. The recent signing of a $2 billion MOU and a $405 million locomotive order illustrates WAB's commitment to enhancing rail connectivity along the vital Trans-Caspian route. These new locomotives are designed to improve reliability and performance, meeting the increasing demand for trade between China and Europe.

Wabtec’s top line is benefiting from higher sales across its Freight and Transit segments. While the Freight segment benefits from growth in services and digital, the Transit segment gains from higher original equipment manufacturing sales.

Other Stocks to Consider

Investors interested in the Zacks Transportation sector may also consider Ryanair RYAAY and Kirby KEX.

Ryanair currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.  RYAAY has an expected earnings growth rate of 9.6% for the current year.

The company has an unimpressive earnings surprise history. Its earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters and missed twice, delivering an average surprise of 29.9%. Shares of RYAAY have risen 24.8% in the past year.

Kirby currently has a Zacks Rank #2 and an expected earnings growth rate of 46.7% for the current year.

The company has an encouraging track record with respect to the earnings surprise, having surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters. The average beat is 8.7%. Shares of KEX have climbed 66.5% in the past year.

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