GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) Short Interest Up 5.1% in October

GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in 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. Based on an average daily volume of 140,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 10.2 days. Currently, 4.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Farm Mutual Automobile I. State purchased 8,984 shares of GATX stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $133.65 per share, with a total value of $1,200,711.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,312,294 shares in the company, valued at $442,688,093.10. This represents a 0.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of GATX

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

GATX Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE GATX opened at $152.33 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.41, a current ratio of 3.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.41. The business’s 50 day moving average is $138.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.76. GATX has a 52-week low of $106.92 and a 52-week high of $156.03. The firm has a market cap of $5.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.36 and a beta of 0.95.

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

GATX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. GATX’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.02%.

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.