Short Interest in The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (NYSE:GBX) Declines By 5.5%

The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (NYSE:GBX) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,050,000 shares, a drop of 5.5% from the June 15th total of 2,170,000 shares. Currently, 6.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 350,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.9 days.

Greenbrier Companies Stock Performance

GBX traded up $0.05 on Wednesday, hitting $48.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 50,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 349,053. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Greenbrier Companies has a 12 month low of $32.00 and a 12 month high of $58.00. The firm has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.57.

Greenbrier Companies (NYSE:GBX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 8th. The transportation company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.02). Greenbrier Companies had a net margin of 3.51% and a return on equity of 8.95%. The company had revenue of $820.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $928.73 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. Greenbrier Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Greenbrier Companies will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

Greenbrier Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 23rd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. Greenbrier Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Greenbrier Companies from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Greenbrier Companies from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Greenbrier Companies from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Greenbrier Companies

In related news, SVP William Glenn sold 5,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.87, for a total value of $300,846.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 33,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,722,654.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Brian J. Comstock sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.48, for a total transaction of $524,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,679,425.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP William Glenn sold 5,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.87, for a total transaction of $300,846.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 33,211 shares in the company, valued at $1,722,654.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 26,896 shares of company stock valued at $1,404,005. Corporate insiders own 2.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Greenbrier Companies during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Greenbrier Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Greenbrier Companies in the first quarter worth approximately $78,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Greenbrier Companies by 404.0% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,253 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 1,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Greenbrier Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $206,000. 95.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Greenbrier Companies

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.