The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (NYSE:GBX) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (NYSE:GBX) saw a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,270,000 shares, an increase of 11.8% from the November 30th total of 2,030,000 shares. Approximately 7.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 298,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.6 days.

Greenbrier Companies Stock Performance

Shares of GBX stock traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $60.99. 201,359 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 319,348. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.58. Greenbrier Companies has a 12-month low of $41.40 and a 12-month high of $69.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.53.

Greenbrier Companies (NYSE:GBX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.60. Greenbrier Companies had a return on equity of 10.86% and a net margin of 4.52%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Greenbrier Companies will post 5.2 EPS for the current year.

Greenbrier Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. Greenbrier Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GBX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna raised their price target on Greenbrier Companies from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America raised their target price on Greenbrier Companies from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Greenbrier Companies

In other Greenbrier Companies news, COO William J. Krueger sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total value of $117,560.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 48,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,863,408.92. This trade represents a 3.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Ricardo Galvan sold 4,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $321,750.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,785,680. This represents a 15.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,703 shares of company stock valued at $790,338 in the last three months. 1.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GBX. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Greenbrier Companies in the 2nd quarter worth $19,820,000. Hodges Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Greenbrier Companies by 216.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 319,094 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $16,239,000 after purchasing an additional 218,294 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Greenbrier Companies by 77.4% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 144,221 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,146,000 after purchasing an additional 62,911 shares during the period. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Greenbrier Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,823,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Greenbrier Companies by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 513,938 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,154,000 after buying an additional 32,191 shares during the period. 95.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Greenbrier Companies Company Profile

The Greenbrier Companies, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets railroad freight car equipment in North America, Europe, and South America. It operates through three segments: Manufacturing; Maintenance Services; and Leasing & Management Services. The Manufacturing segment offers covered hopper cars, gondolas, open top hoppers, boxcars, center partition cars, tank cars, sustainable conversions, double-stack railcars, auto-max ii, multi-max, and multi-max plus products, intermodal cars, automobile transport, coil steel and metals, flat cars, sliding wall cars, pressurized tank cars, and non-pressurized tank cars.