Short Interest in Trinity Industries, Inc. (NYSE:TRN) Decreases By 19.6%

Trinity Industries, Inc. (NYSE:TRN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,210,000 shares, a drop of 19.6% from the December 15th total of 2,750,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 521,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days. Approximately 2.7% of the company's shares are sold short.

Trinity Industries Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of TRN stock traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $37.58. 355,640 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 492,844. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.26. The firm has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.33 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 2.00. Trinity Industries has a fifty-two week low of $23.40 and a fifty-two week high of $39.00.

Trinity Industries (NYSE:TRN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. Trinity Industries had a net margin of 5.31% and a return on equity of 14.57%. The firm had revenue of $798.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $696.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Trinity Industries will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

Trinity Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is an increase from Trinity Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. Trinity Industries's dividend payout ratio is 58.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Trinity Industries by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 10,005 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Trinity Industries by 85.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,017 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Trinity Industries by 13.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,197 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Trinity Industries in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Trinity Industries by 6.1% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 17,388 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $606,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.57% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on TRN shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Trinity Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Susquehanna cut shares of Trinity Industries from a "positive" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $34.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Trinity Industries in a research report on Monday, November 18th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company.

Trinity Industries Company Profile

Trinity Industries, Inc provides rail transportation products and services under the TrinityRail name in North America. It operates in two segments, Railcar Leasing and Management Services Group, and Rail Products Group. The Railcar Leasing and Management Services Group segment leases freight and tank railcars; originates and manages railcar leases for third-party investors; and provides fleet maintenance and management services.