GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,130,000 shares, a decrease of 8.1% from the March 15th total of 1,230,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 140,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.0 days. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Kevin Hillesland sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.83, for a total transaction of $294,426.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,711 shares in the company, valued at $1,031,963.13. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other GATX news, SVP Kevin Hillesland sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.83, for a total value of $294,426.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,031,963.13. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Thomas A. Ellman sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.54, for a total transaction of $2,295,720.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,518,614.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 39,694 shares of company stock valued at $5,040,656. 1.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GATX

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GATX. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of GATX in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,112,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of GATX by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 784,202 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $94,277,000 after purchasing an additional 191,187 shares during the period. Scopus Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of GATX by 433.9% in the first quarter. Scopus Asset Management L.P. now owns 177,248 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,501,000 after buying an additional 144,048 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in GATX by 82.8% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 196,936 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $21,433,000 after buying an additional 89,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in GATX by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 468,726 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $51,011,000 after buying an additional 86,501 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on GATX. Susquehanna increased their price target on GATX from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. TD Cowen raised their target price on GATX from $122.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of GATX from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th.

GATX Stock Performance

NYSE GATX traded down $0.89 on Tuesday, hitting $128.66. 138,056 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 140,045. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.26, a quick ratio of 2.79 and a current ratio of 2.79. The business’s fifty day moving average is $129.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.20. GATX has a 12 month low of $97.21 and a 12 month high of $135.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99 and a beta of 0.98.

GATX (NYSE:GATX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.16. GATX had a return on equity of 11.81% and a net margin of 18.37%. The business had revenue of $368.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $365.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.54 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that GATX will post 7.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GATX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. This is a boost from GATX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. GATX’s payout ratio is presently 32.45%.

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.