GATX (NYSE:GATX) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX)’s stock price reached 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 trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $165.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on GATX. 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 research report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of GATX in a research note on Monday, November 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company.

GATX Stock Down 0.9 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $159.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $148.52. The company has a quick ratio of 3.41, a current ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37. The firm has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16 and a beta of 0.99.

GATX (NYSE:GATX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. GATX had a net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 12.07%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that GATX Co. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

GATX Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from GATX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. GATX’s payout ratio is currently 29.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GATX

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of GATX during the fourth quarter valued at $55,496,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of GATX by 2,826.7% during the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 351,264 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $54,432,000 after purchasing an additional 339,262 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of GATX by 103.4% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 364,492 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $56,479,000 after buying an additional 185,321 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of GATX by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,099,447 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $170,370,000 after acquiring an additional 118,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in GATX by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 700,603 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $108,565,000 after buying an additional 77,437 shares during the period. 93.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.