Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (NYSE:GBX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (NYSE:GBX) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 146,740 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 6,779 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Greenbrier Companies were worth $7,468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GBX. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Greenbrier Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Greenbrier Companies by 60.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 547 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Greenbrier Companies in the third quarter worth $32,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Greenbrier Companies during the third quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Greenbrier Companies during the second quarter valued at $67,000. 95.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Greenbrier Companies Stock Performance

GBX stock opened at $60.99 on Wednesday. The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.40 and a 1-year high of $69.12. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $64.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.12. The company has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.27, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Greenbrier Companies (NYSE:GBX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.60. Greenbrier Companies had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 10.86%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. will post 5.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Greenbrier Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Transactions at Greenbrier Companies

In other news, SVP Ricardo Galvan sold 4,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $321,750.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,785,680. This trade represents a 15.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO William J. Krueger sold 2,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.94, for a total transaction of $150,363.66. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 50,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,191,939.16. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,703 shares of company stock valued at $790,338. Corporate insiders own 1.78% of the company’s stock.

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.