Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the five ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $83.6667.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Rush Enterprises from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Rush Enterprises in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Rush Enterprises from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Rush Enterprises from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Rush Enterprises from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rush Enterprises

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in Rush Enterprises by 75.4% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Rush Enterprises by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $966,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Rush Enterprises by 0.4% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 57,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,955,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Rush Enterprises by 44.4% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in Rush Enterprises by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 35,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,897,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. 84.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Rush Enterprises Price Performance

RUSHA stock opened at $69.31 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $69.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.05. The company has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.94, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.93. Rush Enterprises has a 52-week low of $45.67 and a 52-week high of $76.99. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. Rush Enterprises had a net margin of 3.65% and a return on equity of 11.87%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Rush Enterprises will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

Rush Enterprises Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. Rush Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.96%.

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.