Freightcar America, Inc. (NASDAQ:RAIL) Short Interest Down 42.3% in March

Freightcar America, Inc. (NASDAQ:RAIL) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 206,079 shares, a decline of 42.3% from the February 26th total of 357,441 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 330,515 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.6 days.

Freightcar America Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RAIL traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $8.20. 38,493 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 181,714. The stock has a market cap of $156.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.38 and a beta of 1.75. Freightcar America has a fifty-two week low of $4.31 and a fifty-two week high of $14.90. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.17.

Freightcar America (NASDAQ:RAIL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 9th. The transportation company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $125.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.95 million. Freightcar America had a net margin of 7.61% and a negative return on equity of 15.54%. Equities research analysts predict that Freightcar America will post 0.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Freightcar America

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RAIL. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Freightcar America by 708.2% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 290,954 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,221,000 after acquiring an additional 254,954 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Freightcar America by 92.4% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 446,420 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,942,000 after purchasing an additional 214,397 shares during the period. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new position in Freightcar America during the 3rd quarter worth $2,007,000. Walleye Capital LLC increased its holdings in Freightcar America by 907.4% during the 4th quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 170,830 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 153,872 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Freightcar America by 161.9% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 153,172 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 94,694 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 31.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on RAIL shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Freightcar America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Freightcar America from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $9.00.

Freightcar America Company Profile

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.