Short Interest in GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) Expands By 5.1%

GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,430,000 shares, a growth of 5.1% from the October 15th total of 1,360,000 shares. Approximately 4.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 140,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 10.2 days.

GATX Price Performance

Shares of GATX stock opened at $152.33 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $138.40 and its 200 day moving average is $136.76. GATX has a 1-year low of $106.92 and a 1-year high of $156.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.41, a current ratio of 3.41 and a quick ratio of 3.41. The company has a market cap of $5.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.36 and a beta of 0.95.

GATX (NYSE:GATX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $405.40 million for 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 company’s revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. Research analysts predict that GATX will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GATX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. GATX’s payout ratio is presently 31.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GATX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of GATX from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of GATX in a research report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $185.00 price target for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of GATX

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GATX. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of GATX by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,118,084 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $412,710,000 after purchasing an additional 68,243 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of GATX by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,294,895 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $171,509,000 after acquiring an additional 7,585 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in GATX by 4.9% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 869,643 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $115,106,000 after purchasing an additional 40,924 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of GATX by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 849,603 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $112,550,000 after buying an additional 12,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of GATX by 16.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 831,625 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $110,074,000 after purchasing an additional 120,149 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.14% of the company’s stock.

About GATX

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.