GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) saw a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,590,000 shares, an increase of 10.4% from the November 30th total of 1,440,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 171,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 9.3 days. Approximately 4.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on GATX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on GATX in a research note on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. Sidoti cut GATX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $158.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of GATX from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, GATX has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $151.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Farm Mutual Automobile I. State acquired 8,984 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $133.65 per share, for a total transaction of $1,200,711.60. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 3,312,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $442,688,093.10. This trade represents a 0.27 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GATX

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new stake in GATX in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of GATX in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of GATX in the second quarter worth $53,000. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of GATX by 20.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 487 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in GATX by 872.4% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 564 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.14% of the company’s stock.

GATX Stock Performance

GATX stock traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $154.96. 104,710 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 155,635. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.41, a quick ratio of 3.41 and a current ratio of 3.41. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $154.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.61. GATX has a 12-month low of $114.78 and a 12-month high of $167.74. The stock has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72 and a beta of 0.99.

GATX (NYSE:GATX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.54. The company had revenue of $405.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.65 million. GATX had a net margin of 17.76% and a return on equity of 11.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that GATX will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

GATX Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. GATX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.02%.

GATX Company Profile

GATX Corporation, together its subsidiaries, operates as railcar leasing company in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and India. It operates through three segments: Rail North America, Rail International, and Portfolio Management. The company leases tank and freight railcars, and locomotives for petroleum, chemical, food/agriculture, and transportation industries.