Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Stephens raised their price objective on Rush Enterprises from $60.00 to $63.33 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Rush Enterprises from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Rush Enterprises in a research note on Monday, April 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $58.67 target price for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of Rush Enterprises from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Rush Enterprises from $48.67 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.00.

Rush Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RUSHA opened at $82.13 on Friday. Rush Enterprises has a 52 week low of $45.67 and a 52 week high of $83.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company’s fifty day moving average is $53.00 and its 200 day moving average is $48.59. The stock has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a PE ratio of 24.74, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.87.

Rush Enterprises’s stock is scheduled to split before the market opens on Tuesday, September 1st. The 3-2 split was recently announced. The newly created shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Monday, August 31st.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. Rush Enterprises had a net margin of 3.67% and a return on equity of 11.65%. Research analysts anticipate that Rush Enterprises will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Rush Enterprises Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Rush Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.89%.

Insider Activity at Rush Enterprises

In other news, Director Michael Mcroberts sold 9,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.29, for a total transaction of $529,360.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 24,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,321,662.61. This trade represents a 28.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Steven L. Keller sold 31,017 shares of Rush Enterprises stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.82, for a total value of $1,669,334.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 126,561 shares in the company, valued at $6,811,513.02. This trade represents a 19.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 168,375 shares of company stock valued at $9,092,352 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 12.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rush Enterprises

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Rush Enterprises by 166.4% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,121,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,139,000 after buying an additional 700,511 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Rush Enterprises by 174.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 955,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,566,000 after purchasing an additional 607,047 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Rush Enterprises during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,811,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor purchased a new position in Rush Enterprises during the second quarter valued at $112,882,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Rush Enterprises by 280.4% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 540,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,924,000 after buying an additional 398,721 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.43% of the company’s stock.

About Rush Enterprises

Rush Enterprises, Inc, headquartered in New Braunfels, Texas, is a leading distributor of commercial vehicles and related products in the United States. Through its Rush Truck Centers subsidiary, the company sells new and used medium- and heavy-duty trucks, buses and specialty vehicles, while also offering factory-authorized parts, collision repair, maintenance and warranty support across its network of dealerships.

Founded in 1965, Rush Enterprises has grown to encompass more than 150 locations in over 20 states, partnering with major manufacturers including Kenworth, Peterbilt, Freightliner, Volvo and Mack.