GATX (NYSE:GATX) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Shares of GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $168.89 and last traded at $167.65, with a volume of 21118 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GATX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna lifted their target price on GATX from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Sidoti downgraded shares of GATX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $158.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of GATX in a research note on Monday, November 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $185.00 target price on the stock.

GATX Trading Up 1.0 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 3.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The stock has a market cap of $5.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.49 and a beta of 0.99.

GATX (NYSE:GATX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. GATX had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 17.92%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.74 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that GATX Co. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GATX Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from GATX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. GATX’s payout ratio is presently 29.86%.

Insider Transactions at GATX

In other news, SVP Jeffery R. Young sold 297 shares of GATX stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.63, for a total value of $48,895.11. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,212,006.06. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert Zmudka sold 4,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.83, for a total value of $786,384.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,227,578.19. This represents a 39.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of GATX

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in GATX by 91.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 163 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of GATX by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 178 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in shares of GATX in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GATX during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of GATX by 184.6% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 259 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.14% of the company’s stock.

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.