GATX (NYSE:GATX) Hits New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• GATX shares reached a new 52-week high of $172.97 during trading, reflecting strong investor interest, with a current market capitalization of $6.01 billion.
• Analysts have set a price target of $190.00 for GATX, with an average target of $177.67 and a "Moderate Buy" rating from multiple analysts.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.61, translating to a 1.4% dividend yield, reinforcing its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

GATX Corporation (NYSE:GATX - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $172.97 and last traded at $171.96, with a volume of 93508 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Susquehanna set a $190.00 price target on GATX and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, GATX has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $177.67.

GATX Stock Down 0.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 2.93 and a quick ratio of 2.93. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.65. The firm has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68 and a beta of 1.18.

GATX (NYSE:GATX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.11. GATX had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 19.13%.The firm had revenue of $430.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $425.52 million. GATX has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.500-8.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that GATX Corporation will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GATX Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. GATX's payout ratio is currently 27.92%.

Insider Activity at GATX

In related news, SVP Kevin Hillesland sold 2,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.59, for a total value of $335,698.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,160,599.54. This represents a 22.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert C. Lyons sold 12,635 shares of GATX stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.33, for a total transaction of $2,101,579.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 50,575 shares in the company, valued at $8,412,139.75. The trade was a 19.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,914 shares of company stock worth $2,953,509. Insiders own 2.17% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GATX

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GATX. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of GATX in the second quarter valued at $58,621,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in GATX by 67,875.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 356,189 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $55,305,000 after buying an additional 355,665 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in GATX by 429.5% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 187,835 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $28,844,000 after buying an additional 152,361 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of GATX by 52.7% in the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 434,415 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $66,709,000 after acquiring an additional 149,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GATX during the second quarter valued at $23,025,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.14% of the company's stock.

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.