By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,590,000 shares, a growth of 10.4% from the November 30th total of 1,440,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 171,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 9.3 days. Currently, 4.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.
Insider Buying and Selling at GATX
In related news, major shareholder Farm Mutual Automobile I. State bought 8,984 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $133.65 per share, for a total transaction of $1,200,711.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 3,312,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $442,688,093.10. The trade was a 0.27 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Institutional Trading of GATX
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new stake in GATX during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of GATX in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in GATX in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,000. CWM LLC grew its position in GATX by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 487 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in GATX by 872.4% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 564 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. 93.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts have weighed in on GATX shares. Sidoti lowered GATX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $158.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of GATX from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of GATX in a research note on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $185.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, GATX has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $151.80.
View Our Latest Research Report on GATX
GATX Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE GATX traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $154.96. 104,710 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 155,635. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $154.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.61. The company has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.41, a current ratio of 3.41 and a quick ratio of 3.41. GATX has a 52 week low of $114.78 and a 52 week high of $167.74.
GATX (NYSE:GATX – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.54. GATX had a net margin of 17.76% and a return on equity of 11.98%. The company had revenue of $405.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.65 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that GATX will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
GATX Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. GATX’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.
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