The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (NYSE:GBX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (NYSE:GBX) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the four brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $60.00.

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Greenbrier Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America raised their price target on Greenbrier Companies from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Greenbrier Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st.

Greenbrier Companies Trading Down 2.4 %

Greenbrier Companies stock opened at $65.70 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $62.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Greenbrier Companies has a 52 week low of $41.40 and a 52 week high of $69.12. The stock has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of 13.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.53.

Greenbrier Companies (NYSE:GBX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.60. Greenbrier Companies had a return on equity of 10.86% and a net margin of 4.52%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Greenbrier Companies will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Greenbrier Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 6th. Greenbrier Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.14%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO William J. Krueger sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total transaction of $117,560.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 48,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,863,408.92. This trade represents a 3.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Ricardo Galvan sold 1,388 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total value of $86,056.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 32,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,008,056. The trade was a 4.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,703 shares of company stock valued at $790,338 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Greenbrier Companies

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Greenbrier Companies by 60.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 547 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Greenbrier Companies by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 17,083 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $846,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Greenbrier Companies by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 15,700 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $778,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Greenbrier Companies by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,939 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $506,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Greenbrier Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. 95.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Greenbrier Companies Company Profile

The Greenbrier Companies, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets railroad freight car equipment in North America, Europe, and South America. It operates through three segments: Manufacturing; Maintenance Services; and Leasing & Management Services. The Manufacturing segment offers covered hopper cars, gondolas, open top hoppers, boxcars, center partition cars, tank cars, sustainable conversions, double-stack railcars, auto-max ii, multi-max, and multi-max plus products, intermodal cars, automobile transport, coil steel and metals, flat cars, sliding wall cars, pressurized tank cars, and non-pressurized tank cars.