GATX (NYSE:GATX) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $167.52 and last traded at $167.00, with a volume of 6436 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $165.55.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GATX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Susquehanna increased their target price 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. Sidoti lowered GATX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $158.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on GATX in a report on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $185.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $151.80.

GATX Trading Up 0.8 %

The company has a market capitalization of $5.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.15 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.41, a quick ratio of 3.41 and a current ratio of 3.41.

GATX (NYSE:GATX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $405.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.65 million. GATX had a net margin of 17.76% and a return on equity of 11.98%. GATX’s revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that GATX Co. will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current year.

GATX Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. GATX’s dividend payout ratio is 31.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Farm Mutual Automobile I. State bought 8,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $133.65 per share, with a total value of $1,200,711.60. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 3,312,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $442,688,093.10. This represents a 0.27 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of GATX

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in GATX by 108.4% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,751 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $761,000 after purchasing an additional 2,992 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in GATX by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,528 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in GATX by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,144 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $681,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Welch Group LLC increased its position in GATX by 149.4% in the 2nd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 7,512 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $994,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of GATX by 34.2% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,509 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. 93.14% of the stock is currently owned by 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.