GATX (NYSE:GATX) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $151.42 and last traded at $150.06, with a volume of 13077 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $142.63.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

GATX Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $136.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.67. The company has a market cap of $5.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 3.41, a quick ratio of 3.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.41.

GATX (NYSE:GATX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $391.65 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that GATX Co. will post 7.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GATX Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $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 (DPR) is currently 31.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other GATX news, major shareholder Farm Mutual Automobile I. State purchased 8,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $133.65 per share, with a total value of $1,200,711.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,312,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $442,688,093.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of GATX by 2.9% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,528 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in GATX by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 4,560 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank raised its position in GATX by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 803 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in GATX by 20.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 487 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of GATX by 2.0% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 4,749 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 93.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.