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

GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during 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 a number of recent analyst reports. Sidoti lowered GATX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $158.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of GATX in a report on Monday, November 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $185.00 target price for the company. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of GATX from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st.

GATX Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $5.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.49 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $159.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 3.41 and a current ratio of 2.77.

GATX (NYSE:GATX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that GATX Co. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GATX Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at GATX

In related news, VP Robert Zmudka sold 4,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.83, for a total value of $786,384.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,493 shares in the company, valued at $1,227,578.19. The trade was a 39.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jeffery R. Young sold 297 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.63, for a total value of $48,895.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,212,006.06. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GATX

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GATX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in GATX by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 92,861 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $12,299,000 after purchasing an additional 15,092 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in GATX by 2.2% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 167,651 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $22,206,000 after acquiring an additional 3,580 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in GATX by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,294,895 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $171,509,000 after acquiring an additional 7,585 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in GATX by 3.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 474,729 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $62,878,000 after acquiring an additional 17,255 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of GATX by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 849,603 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $112,550,000 after purchasing an additional 12,571 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.