A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Triton International . Shares have added about 12.2% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Triton due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.

Earnings Beat at Triton in Q3

Triton's third-quarter 2022 earnings of $2.88 per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.76. The bottom line jumped 18.5% year over year, owing to strong trade volumes and container demand.

Total leasing revenues of $424.7 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $420.6 million. The top line increased 6.1% year over year, driven by a 95.6% year-over-year rise in revenues from finance leases. Revenues from operating leases (accounting for 93% of the top line) grew 2.6% year over year. 

Equipment trading revenues of $44.8 million rose 0.8% from the year-ago quarter’s figure. The trading margin came in at $3.68 million compared with $9.16 million in the prior-year quarter.

Triton generated a return on equity (adjusted) of 27.5% in the reported quarter compared with 29.4% in the year-ago quarter. Total operating expenses increased 0.6% year over year to $191.6 million.

Triton exited the third quarter with average utilization of 99.1% compared with 99.4% in the second quarter.

Triton repurchased 3.2 million shares during the third quarter and has repurchased an additional 0.9 million shares through Oct 26, 2022.

TRTN’s board of directors has increased its quarterly cash dividend from 65 cents per share to 70 cents, indicating a dividend hike of almost 8%. The raised dividend will be paid on Dec 22, 2022, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Dec 8, 2022.

Outlook

Adjusted net income per share in the fourth quarter is anticipated to decline sequentially due to the decrease in the company’s utilization and used container sale prices from their latest extraordinarily high levels.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

In the past month, investors have witnessed an upward trend in fresh estimates.

VGM Scores

At this time, Triton has a nice Growth Score of B, though it is lagging a bit on the Momentum Score front with a C. However, the stock was allocated a grade of A on the value side, putting it in the top 20% for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of A. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook

Estimates have been trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of this revision looks promising. Notably, Triton has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.

Performance of an Industry Player

Triton is part of the Zacks Transportation - Equipment and Leasing industry. Over the past month, Gatx (GATX Quick QuoteGATX - Free Report) , a stock from the same industry, has gained 9.1%. The company reported its results for the quarter ended September 2022 more than a month ago.

Gatx reported revenues of $321 million in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +2.4%. EPS of $1.12 for the same period compares with $1.11 a year ago.

For the current quarter, Gatx is expected to post earnings of $1.38 per share, indicating a change of -12.7% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate remained unchanged over the last 30 days.

The overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions translate into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for Gatx. Also, the stock has a VGM Score of D.