GATX (NYSE:GATX) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $156.64 and last traded at $156.56, with a volume of 21009 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.28.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GATX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna raised their target price on GATX from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on GATX in a report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company.

GATX Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.41, a current ratio of 3.41 and a quick ratio of 3.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $139.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.24.

GATX (NYSE:GATX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $391.65 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that GATX Co. will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

GATX Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. GATX’s payout ratio is 31.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other GATX news, major shareholder Farm Mutual Automobile I. State acquired 8,984 shares of GATX stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $133.65 per share, with a total value of $1,200,711.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 3,312,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $442,688,093.10. This represents a 0.27 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of GATX

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GATX. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new stake in GATX in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in GATX in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of GATX during the second quarter worth about $37,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in GATX in the second quarter worth $53,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in GATX by 20.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 487 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. 93.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.