Ryder System (NYSE:R) Upgraded to “Outperform” at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Ryder System (NYSE:R) from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $159.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock.

R has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Ryder System from $168.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ryder System from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Barclays began coverage on Ryder System in a research note on Monday, June 9th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Ryder System from $174.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ryder System currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.17.

Ryder System Price Performance

NYSE:R opened at $171.68 on Tuesday. Ryder System has a 52-week low of $117.17 and a 52-week high of $172.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $151.30 and a 200 day moving average of $152.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.97 and a beta of 0.97.

Ryder System (NYSE:R) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.06. Ryder System had a return on equity of 17.64% and a net margin of 3.96%. The firm had revenue of $3.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.14 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Ryder System will post 13.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ryder System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Ryder System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ryder System

In other news, CEO Robert E. Sanchez sold 18,496 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.73, for a total transaction of $2,880,382.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,357,521.52. This trade represents a 31.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director E Follin Smith sold 1,243 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.38, for a total value of $179,464.34. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 39,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,746,612.76. This trade represents a 3.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ryder System

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Ryder System by 16.2% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,984,836 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $429,249,000 after acquiring an additional 415,103 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Ryder System during the 4th quarter valued at about $314,075,000. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in Ryder System by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,905,223 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $298,853,000 after purchasing an additional 45,393 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in Ryder System by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,456,453 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $209,453,000 after buying an additional 4,912 shares during the period. Finally, Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lifted its holdings in Ryder System by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 870,959 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $125,253,000 after buying an additional 7,429 shares during the period. 87.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ryder System Company Profile

Ryder System, Inc operates as a logistics and transportation company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Fleet Management Solutions (FMS), Supply Chain Solutions (SCS), and Dedicated Transportation Solutions (DTS). The FMS segment offers full-service leasing and leasing with flexible maintenance options; commercial vehicle rental services; and contract or transactional maintenance services of trucks, tractors, and trailers; access to diesel fuel; and fuel planning and tax reporting, cards, and monitoring services, and centralized billing, as well as sells used vehicles through its retail sales centers and www.ryder.com/used-trucks website, as well as digital and technology support services.