GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) Short Interest Update

GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,360,000 shares, an increase of 9.7% from the September 30th total of 1,240,000 shares. Approximately 3.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 145,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 9.3 days.

Insider Activity at GATX

In other news, major shareholder Farm Mutual Automobile I. State acquired 8,984 shares of GATX stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $133.65 per share, with a total value 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of GATX in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new stake in GATX during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in GATX during the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of GATX in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of GATX by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 487 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. 93.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GATX Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GATX opened at $137.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $135.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.91. GATX has a fifty-two week low of $102.18 and a fifty-two week high of $151.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.41, a quick ratio of 4.97 and a current ratio of 3.41.

GATX (NYSE:GATX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.54. GATX had a net margin of 17.76% and a return on equity of 11.98%. The business had revenue of $405.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $391.65 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that GATX will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GATX Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. GATX’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Susquehanna increased their target price on GATX from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st.

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.