Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $87.00.

RUSHA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stephens increased their target price on Rush Enterprises from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Rush Enterprises from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Rush Enterprises from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Rush Enterprises from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Rush Enterprises from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd.

Rush Enterprises Stock Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:RUSHA opened at $81.80 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $73.26 and a 200-day moving average of $70.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a PE ratio of 24.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.87. Rush Enterprises has a 52 week low of $45.67 and a 52 week high of $83.61.

Rush Enterprises shares are going to split before the market opens on Tuesday, August 11th. The 3-2 split was recently announced. The newly minted shares will be payable to shareholders after the closing bell on Monday, August 10th.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. Rush Enterprises had a return on equity of 11.65% and a net margin of 3.67%.The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. Analysts predict that Rush Enterprises will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Rush Enterprises Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. Rush Enterprises’s payout ratio is 22.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Steven L. Keller sold 20,678 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.73, for a total value of $1,669,334.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 84,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,811,513.02. This represents a 19.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael Mcroberts sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total value of $529,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,321,689.76. This represents a 28.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 112,250 shares of company stock valued at $9,092,352. Corporate insiders own 12.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Rush Enterprises in the fourth quarter worth about $776,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its position in Rush Enterprises by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 350,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,930,000 after buying an additional 24,781 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its stake in Rush Enterprises by 85.0% during the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 729,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,336,000 after buying an additional 335,019 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Rush Enterprises by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 148,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,027,000 after buying an additional 13,515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of Rush Enterprises by 322.0% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 21,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,184,000 after buying an additional 16,753 shares in the last quarter. 84.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.