Trinity Industries, Inc. (NYSE:TRN) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Trinity Industries, Inc. (NYSE:TRN) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,210,000 shares, a decrease of 19.6% from the December 15th total of 2,750,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 521,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Trinity Industries

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in Trinity Industries by 2.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,226,026 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $112,395,000 after buying an additional 73,183 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Trinity Industries by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,848,591 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $64,418,000 after acquiring an additional 24,832 shares in the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Trinity Industries during the 2nd quarter worth $40,527,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Trinity Industries by 136.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,047,663 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $31,346,000 after purchasing an additional 604,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Trinity Industries by 180.7% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 823,040 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $24,625,000 after purchasing an additional 529,857 shares in the last quarter. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Trinity Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Trinity Industries in a research note on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. Finally, Susquehanna downgraded Trinity Industries from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday, October 21st.

Trinity Industries Price Performance

TRN traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $38.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 20,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 449,612. Trinity Industries has a 12 month low of $23.40 and a 12 month high of $39.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.39. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $36.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.26. The stock has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66 and a beta of 1.40.

Trinity Industries (NYSE:TRN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. Trinity Industries had a net margin of 5.31% and a return on equity of 14.57%. The company had revenue of $798.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $696.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Trinity Industries will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Trinity Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. This is a positive change from Trinity Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Trinity Industries’s payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

Trinity Industries Company Profile

Trinity Industries, Inc provides rail transportation products and services under the TrinityRail name in North America. It operates in two segments, Railcar Leasing and Management Services Group, and Rail Products Group. The Railcar Leasing and Management Services Group segment leases freight and tank railcars; originates and manages railcar leases for third-party investors; and provides fleet maintenance and management services.