Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) Short Interest Down 16.5% in December

Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,830,000 shares, a decline of 16.5% from the December 15th total of 3,390,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 367,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.7 days.

Insider Transactions at Rush Enterprises

In other news, CEO William M. Rusty Rush sold 117,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.98, for a total value of $7,517,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 174,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,142,372.92. This trade represents a 40.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven L. Keller sold 43,875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.68, for a total value of $2,793,960.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 83,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,308,683.20. This trade represents a 34.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 176,000 shares of company stock worth $11,167,173 in the last three months. Insiders own 12.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rush Enterprises

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RUSHA. Dean Investment Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Rush Enterprises during the third quarter worth about $1,986,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Rush Enterprises by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,186,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,677,000 after purchasing an additional 138,488 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Rush Enterprises during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $478,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rush Enterprises in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,523,000. Finally, Tensile Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Rush Enterprises in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,815,000. 84.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rush Enterprises Stock Up 0.0 %

RUSHA stock traded up $0.03 on Friday, hitting $60.13. 347,752 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 287,507. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $58.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.40. Rush Enterprises has a 12-month low of $40.99 and a 12-month high of $65.15. The stock has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.02.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Rush Enterprises had a net margin of 3.93% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Rush Enterprises will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rush Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. Rush Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Rush Enterprises from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st.

Rush Enterprises Company Profile

Rush Enterprises, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retailer of commercial vehicles and related services in the United States and Canada. The company operates a network of commercial vehicle dealerships under the Rush Truck Centers name. Its Rush Truck Centers primarily sell commercial vehicles manufactured by Peterbilt, International, Hino, Ford, Isuzu, IC Bus, Blue Bird, and Dennis Eagle.