GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) Short Interest Update

GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,360,000 shares, an increase of 9.7% from the September 30th total of 1,240,000 shares. Approximately 3.9% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 145,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 9.3 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other GATX news, major shareholder Farm Mutual Automobile I. State purchased 8,984 shares of GATX stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $133.65 per share, for a total transaction of $1,200,711.60. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 3,312,294 shares in the company, valued at $442,688,093.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of GATX

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GATX. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new position in GATX during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in shares of GATX in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of GATX in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of GATX in the second quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of GATX by 20.2% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 487 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. 93.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Susquehanna lifted their price target on GATX from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st.

GATX Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of GATX stock traded up $0.14 on Wednesday, reaching $139.55. The stock had a trading volume of 105,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 150,553. GATX has a 1 year low of $102.18 and a 1 year high of $151.33. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $135.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.88. The company has a quick ratio of 4.97, a current ratio of 3.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.13 and a beta of 0.95.

GATX (NYSE:GATX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $2.50 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.65 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that GATX will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

GATX Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. GATX's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.05%.

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.