Trinity Industries, Inc. (NYSE:TRN) Short Interest Update

Trinity Industries, Inc. (NYSE:TRN) saw a significant 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. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 521,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days.

Trinity Industries Stock Performance

TRN opened at $37.70 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.39, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.23. Trinity Industries has a 1 year low of $23.40 and a 1 year high of $39.00. The company has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 18.39 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Trinity Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This is a boost from Trinity Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Trinity Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TRN. StockNews.com lowered Trinity Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Susquehanna lowered shares of Trinity Industries from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective 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 shares of Trinity Industries in a report on Monday, November 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 target price for the company.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Trinity Industries

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Trinity Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Trinity Industries by 85.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,017 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Trinity Industries during the second quarter worth about $54,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in Trinity Industries by 13.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,197 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Trinity Industries during the third quarter worth about $204,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Trinity Industries

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.