GATX (NYSE:GATX) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

GATX Co. (NYSE:GATX) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $168.89 and last traded at $167.65, with a volume of 21118 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $165.39.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on GATX in a research note on Monday, November 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $185.00 price target for the company. Sidoti downgraded GATX from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $158.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

GATX Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.37, a quick ratio of 3.41 and a current ratio of 2.77. The company has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.16 and a beta of 0.99.

GATX (NYSE:GATX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. GATX had a net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 12.07%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that GATX Co. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

GATX Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. This is a boost from GATX’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. GATX’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.86%.

Insider Activity at GATX

In other news, VP Robert Zmudka sold 4,800 shares of GATX stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.83, for a total value of $786,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,227,578.19. This trade represents a 39.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jeffery R. Young sold 297 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.63, for a total value of $48,895.11. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,212,006.06. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of GATX

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of GATX by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,949,889 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $612,075,000 after purchasing an additional 17,885 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in GATX by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,113,589 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $482,482,000 after purchasing an additional 35,890 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of GATX by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,294,895 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $171,509,000 after acquiring an additional 7,585 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of GATX by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,099,447 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $170,370,000 after purchasing an additional 118,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in GATX by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,021,743 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $158,329,000 after acquiring an additional 17,273 shares in the last quarter. 93.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.