Legato Capital Management LLC Reduces Position in Rush Enterprises, Inc. $RUSHA

Legato Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) by 74.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,141 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,756 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Rush Enterprises were worth $385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Rush Enterprises by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,359,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,524,000 after purchasing an additional 6,994 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Rush Enterprises by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,173,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,743,000 after buying an additional 326,917 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Rush Enterprises by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 785,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,027,000 after buying an additional 105,450 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Rush Enterprises by 91.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 628,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,392,000 after buying an additional 301,119 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position 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 during the period. 84.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RUSHA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Rush Enterprises from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings raised Rush Enterprises from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Zacks Research lowered Rush Enterprises from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Rush Enterprises from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Rush Enterprises in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael Mcroberts sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.23, for a total transaction of $577,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,172,220.67. This represents a 33.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Raymond Joseph Chess sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.05, for a total transaction of $650,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 41,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,678,108.50. The trade was a 19.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 12.68% of the company’s stock.

Rush Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of RUSHA opened at $72.12 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $69.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.70. Rush Enterprises, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.67 and a fifty-two week high of $76.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a PE ratio of 21.79, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 1.46.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.05. Rush Enterprises had a net margin of 3.65% and a return on equity of 11.87%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.73 billion. Equities analysts predict that Rush Enterprises, Inc. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rush Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Rush Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.96%.

Rush Enterprises Company Profile

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.