Piper Jaffray Maintains CAP EPS Estimates

Piper Jaffray said today that it is maintaining its EPS estimates on CAI International, Inc. CAP despite the ~$0.10 dilutive mid-Dec. equity raise and a slightly more expensive new $300m term loan that is close to being finalized. “Our '11/'12 adjusted EPS ests. remain $2.10/$2.68, which we view as conservative as we are modeling very little gain on sale revenue and little benefit from rising lease rates,” Piper Jaffray writes. “Lease rates are up 50% on renewals of used containers. We also believe we are conservative on our utilization outlook (95%/94% in '11/'12) and capex forecast ($200m in '11 and '12). Every 100 bps change in utilization and lease yield equates to ~$0.04 and ~$0.23 in earnings.” Piper Jaffray has reiterated its Overweight rating and $25 target (12x '11E EPS). Given the capital constraints of the shipping lines and a tight container demand/supply balance, “we believe the robust operating environment for container lessors could extend for several years.” CAI International closed at $18.87 on Wednesday.