GATX (NYSE:GATX) Reaches New 12-Month 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 changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $133.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GATX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of GATX from $122.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on GATX from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on GATX from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th.

GATX Stock Up 0.1 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $127.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.18. The firm has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.26.

GATX (NYSE:GATX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $365.32 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that GATX Co. will post 7.53 EPS for the current year.

GATX Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Kevin Hillesland sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.83, for a total value of $294,426.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,031,963.13. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Robert C. Lyons sold 19,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.70, for a total value of $2,426,010.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 44,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,620,047. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Kevin Hillesland sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.83, for a total value of $294,426.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,031,963.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,694 shares of company stock worth $5,040,656 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GATX

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of GATX by 5.8% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,675,622 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $601,940,000 after buying an additional 255,466 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in GATX by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,917,862 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $471,005,000 after purchasing an additional 14,420 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of GATX by 3.0% during the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,829,696 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $307,956,000 after purchasing an additional 82,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of GATX by 0.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,198,966 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $154,355,000 after purchasing an additional 3,702 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.14% of the company’s stock.

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.