For Immediate Release Chicago, IL – April 10, 2017 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (NYSE: GBX – Free Report ), Trinity Industries (NYSE: TRN – Free Report ), GATX Corporation (NYSE: GATX – Free Report ) and American Railcar Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARII – Free Report ). Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free . Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog: Are Railcar Stocks Headed for a Turnaround? According to a Railway Age report , Economic Planning Associates (EPA) has raised expectations pertaining to total railcar deliveries to 43,000 cars (earlier 41,000 cars) based on market analysis. Railcar deliveries are expected to increase further to 46,300 and 53,500 in 2019 and 2021, respectively. The report further stated that declining rail car demand in 2016 resulted in a 66% decline in backlog during the course of the year to 66,700 units. Greenbrier’s Strong Results Raise Optimism The impressive performance of railcar manufacturer The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (NYSE: GBX – Free Report ) in the second quarter of fiscal 2017 (ended Feb 28), raised hope pertaining to an improved rail car demand scenario. Shares of this Zacks Rank # 3 (Hold), Oregon-based company, were positively impacted following its better-than-expected results on Apr 5. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here . The company delivered 3,900 railcars in the quarter with a backlog of 22, 600 units at the end. Moving ahead, railcar deliveries are expected in the range of 14,000 to 16,000 units for fiscal 2017. We believe that the improved scenario pertaining to rail traffic is a positive. Partnership Expansion: Boost to Railcar Operations? Apart from its strong earnings report, the stock of this railcar manufacturer was boosted by the expansion of the partnership (in North America) with Tokyo-based Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance (MUL), worth more than $1 billion. The Japanese company aims to increase its railcar portfolio from the current level of 5,000 to 25,000 railcars over the next four years. Per the Memorandum of Understanding, MUL has a multi-year commitment to purchase 6,000 newly-manufactured railcars through 2020 from Greenbrier. Also, MUL is expected to obtain its newly-manufactured railcars exclusively from Greenbrier through 2023. Consequently, the huge railcar order has sparked optimism among investors. We remind investors that in late 2014, Trinity Industries (NYSE: TRN – Free Report ), which produces and sells a wide range of products including railcars and railcar parts, inked a 4-year deal to deliver 8,950 cars to GATX Corporation (NYSE:GATX – Free Report ). The delivery of railcars started last year. GATX Corp. leases out railcars. Price Performance We note that companies like Greenbrier, American Railcar Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARII – Free Report ) and GATX Corp. have been good performers of late. The railcar manufacturers have outperformed the Zacks categorized Transportation - Equipment & Leasing industry over the last month. Shares of Greenbrier, American Railcar Industries and GATX Corp. increased 12.5%, 2.9% and 5% respectively, while the industry fell 1.5%. Oil Prices Still Low Automotive railcar demand is tied to low fuel prices apart from improved economic health. Despite the recent optimism surrounding the oil price following last year's OPEC deal, it is still hovering around $50 a barrel. This is much lower than the $100+ per barrel witnessed in mid-2014. The fact that the oil prices are unlikely to touch those highs any time soon seems to be a positive for automotive railcar demand. We believe, the steadily improving economy should also buoy railcar demand. Meanwhile, demand for railcars has diversified to sectors beyond oil. This was due to increasing shipments of chemicals, grain, autos and construction materials. As a result, many railroads have increased the number of railcars and locomotives in order to decrease track congestion. In the event of railcar demand really picking up, shares of the above mentioned railcar manufacturers are likely to get a further boost. Consequently, we expect investor focus to remain on this burning issue. 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Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons. Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has nearly tripled the market from 1988 through 2015. Its average gain has been a stellar +26% per year. See these high-potential stocks free >>. 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Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (The) (GBX): Free Stock Analysis Report Trinity Industries, Inc. (TRN): Free Stock Analysis Report GATX Corporation (GATX): Free Stock Analysis Report American Railcar Industries, Inc. (ARII): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research