GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

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

GATX Stock Performance

Shares of GATX stock traded down $1.78 on Thursday, reaching $137.85. 103,370 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 150,329. GATX has a 1-year low of $102.18 and a 1-year high of $151.33. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $135.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.89 billion, a PE ratio of 18.52 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 3.41, a quick ratio of 4.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.41.

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

GATX Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. GATX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity at GATX

In other news, major shareholder Farm Mutual Automobile I. State acquired 8,984 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were bought 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 in the company, valued at approximately $442,688,093.10. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GATX

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in GATX by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 831,625 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $110,074,000 after purchasing an additional 120,149 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in GATX by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,049,841 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $408,770,000 after purchasing an additional 80,087 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in GATX by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 828,719 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $111,073,000 after purchasing an additional 44,517 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of GATX during the third quarter worth about $3,922,000. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of GATX by 46.4% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 71,366 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,446,000 after buying an additional 22,619 shares during the period. 93.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.