Critical Survey: Trinity Industries (TRN) and Its Competitors

Trinity Industries (NYSE:TRN) is one of 14 publicly-traded companies in the “TRANS – EQP&LSNG” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its competitors? We will compare Trinity Industries to related companies based on the strength of its dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, institutional ownership and valuation.

Dividends

Trinity Industries pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. Trinity Industries pays out 105.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. As a group, “TRANS – EQP&LSNG” companies pay a dividend yield of 1.4% and pay out 19.8% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Trinity Industries has raised its dividend for 16 consecutive years.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

86.6% of Trinity Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.4% of shares of all “TRANS – EQP&LSNG” companies are owned by institutional investors. 2.0% of Trinity Industries shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.3% of shares of all “TRANS – EQP&LSNG” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Trinity Industries and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Trinity Industries	0	3	0	0	2.00
Trinity Industries Competitors	130	572	1002	66	2.57

Trinity Industries presently has a consensus price target of $27.50, indicating a potential upside of 2.14%. As a group, “TRANS – EQP&LSNG” companies have a potential upside of 11.93%. Given Trinity Industries’ competitors stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Trinity Industries has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Trinity Industries and its competitors revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Trinity Industries	$3.08 billion	$138.40 million	23.62
Trinity Industries Competitors	$3.74 billion	$360.72 million	21.19

Trinity Industries’ competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Trinity Industries. Trinity Industries is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Volatility and Risk

Trinity Industries has a beta of 1.52, meaning that its share price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Trinity Industries’ competitors have a beta of 1.02, meaning that their average share price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Trinity Industries and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Trinity Industries	3.83%	8.49%	1.25%
Trinity Industries Competitors	10.91%	4.90%	2.78%

Summary

Trinity Industries competitors beat Trinity Industries on 10 of the 15 factors compared.

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. As of December 31, 2023, it had a fleet of 109,295 railcars. This segment serves industrial shipper and railroad companies operating in agriculture, construction and metals, consumer products, energy, and refined products and chemicals markets. The Rail Products Group segment manufactures freight and tank railcars for transporting various liquids, gases, and dry cargo; and offers railcar maintenance and modification services. This segment serves railroads, leasing companies, and industrial shippers of products in the agriculture, construction and metals, consumer products, energy, and refined products and chemicals markets. It sells or leases products and services through its own sales personnel and independent sales representatives. The company was incorporated in 1933 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.