Freightcar America, Inc. (NASDAQ:RAIL) Short Interest Up 60.4% in December

Freightcar America, Inc. (NASDAQ:RAIL) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 387,748 shares, an increase of 60.4% from the December 15th total of 241,788 shares. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 243,270 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 243,270 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Freightcar America Stock Up 4.3%

NASDAQ RAIL opened at $11.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $221.70 million, a P/E ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.67. The company’s 50 day moving average is $9.60 and its 200-day moving average is $9.52. Freightcar America has a 12-month low of $4.31 and a 12-month high of $13.64.

Freightcar America (NASDAQ:RAIL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The transportation company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $160.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.25 million. Freightcar America had a net margin of 17.40% and a negative return on equity of 17.35%. Equities analysts expect that Freightcar America will post 0.09 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Freightcar America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 28th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Freightcar America from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Freightcar America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $9.00.

Institutional Trading of Freightcar America

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RAIL. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Freightcar America by 58.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 106,656 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 39,506 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. bought a new position in Freightcar America in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,498,000. Financial Advocates Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of Freightcar America during the 2nd quarter valued at $280,000. Heron Bay Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Freightcar America in the second quarter worth $143,000. Finally, Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Freightcar America in the second quarter worth $87,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 31.96% of the company’s stock.

About Freightcar America

FreightCar America, Inc is a designer and manufacturer of specialized railroad freight cars, offering a diverse range of products that include tank cars, open and covered hoppers, gondolas, boxcars and centerbeam lumber cars. The company supports both new car construction and the rebuilding of existing fleets, providing custom engineering solutions to meet customer specifications and industry regulations. FreightCar America also supplies aftermarket parts, maintenance services and component remanufacturing for its own fleet and for third-party car owners.

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, FreightCar America traces its origins to early 20th-century railcar builders and began trading as an independent, publicly-listed company on the NASDAQ under the ticker RAIL following a spin-off in 2010.