GATX (NYSE:GATX) Sets New 52-Week High at $135.37

GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $135.37 and last traded at $135.26, with a volume of 14556 shares. The stock had previously closed at $133.93.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on GATX. TD Cowen increased their price objective on GATX from $122.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of GATX from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of GATX from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th.

GATX Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $127.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.79, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.26.

GATX (NYSE:GATX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.16. GATX had a return on equity of 11.81% and a net margin of 18.37%. The business had revenue of $368.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $365.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that GATX Co. will post 7.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GATX Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 29th. This is a boost from GATX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. GATX’s dividend payout ratio is 32.45%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Thomas A. Ellman sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.54, for a total value of $2,295,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 35,429 shares in the company, valued at $4,518,614.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Thomas A. Ellman sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.54, for a total value of $2,295,720.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,429 shares in the company, valued at $4,518,614.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert C. Lyons sold 19,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.70, for a total transaction of $2,426,010.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 44,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,620,047. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 39,694 shares of company stock worth $5,040,656. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of GATX

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of GATX by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 2,696 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its holdings in GATX by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 2,969 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of GATX by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 16,574 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,993,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in GATX by 2.7% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 3,729 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY raised its stake in GATX by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 2,181 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 93.14% of the stock is 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.