Trinity Industries, Inc. (NYSE:TRN) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Trinity Industries, Inc. (NYSE:TRN) was the target of 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 company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 521,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on TRN shares. Susquehanna downgraded shares of Trinity Industries from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $34.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Trinity Industries in a research note on Monday, November 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Trinity Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Trinity Industries

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in Trinity Industries by 2.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,226,026 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $112,395,000 after purchasing an additional 73,183 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Trinity Industries by 125.9% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 56,979 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,975,000 after buying an additional 31,758 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Trinity Industries during the third quarter worth $572,000. Royce & Associates LP raised its position in Trinity Industries by 8.2% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 367,421 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $12,801,000 after acquiring an additional 27,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Trinity Industries in the second quarter valued at $1,049,000. 86.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trinity Industries Stock Performance

Shares of TRN opened at $37.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.39 and a beta of 1.40. Trinity Industries has a twelve month low of $23.40 and a twelve month high of $39.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 2.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $36.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.23.

Trinity Industries (NYSE:TRN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $798.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $696.00 million. Trinity Industries had a net margin of 5.31% and a return on equity of 14.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Trinity Industries will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Trinity Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Trinity Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. Trinity Industries’s payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Trinity Industries Company Profile

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.