Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Rush Enterprises from “Buy” to “Hold,” while broader analyst sentiment remains “Hold” with a consensus price target of $46.00.
• RUSHA shares opened at $44.52, down 1.4%, despite the company exceeding quarterly earnings and revenue expectations with EPS of $0.40 and revenue of $1.90 billion.
• Insiders sold $9.1 million worth of shares over the past three months, while institutional investors own 84.43% of the company.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on RUSHA. Zacks Research cut Rush Enterprises from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $56.67 target price (up from $52.00) on shares of Rush Enterprises in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Rush Enterprises from $40.00 to $42.22 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Rush Enterprises from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.00.

Rush Enterprises Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of RUSHA stock opened at $44.52 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.11, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.92. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $47.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.44. Rush Enterprises has a 1 year low of $30.45 and a 1 year high of $55.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.38.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. Rush Enterprises had a return on equity of 11.65% and a net margin of 3.67%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Rush Enterprises will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven Keller sold 46,525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.88, for a total transaction of $1,669,317.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 189,841 shares in the company, valued at $6,811,495.08. This represents a 19.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michael Goldstone sold 5,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.02, for a total transaction of $194,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 28,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,020,401.49. The trade was a 16.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 252,561 shares of company stock valued at $9,092,298 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 12.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rush Enterprises

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RUSHA. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Rush Enterprises by 66.1% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,334 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 531 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Rush Enterprises by 356.5% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,730 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 1,351 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Rush Enterprises by 54.7% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Rush Enterprises by 4.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,430,986 shares of the company's stock valued at $177,426,000 after buying an additional 96,418 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Rush Enterprises by 10.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 31,334 shares of the company's stock worth $2,287,000 after buying an additional 3,005 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.43% of the company's stock.

About Rush Enterprises

Rush Enterprises, Inc is a commercial vehicle solutions provider that operates a network of truck dealerships under the Rush Truck Centers name. The company sells new and used commercial vehicles, including trucks and related equipment from manufacturers such as Peterbilt, International, Ford, Isuzu and Hino, serving customers in the trucking, construction, energy, public-sector and other industries.

In addition to vehicle sales, Rush Truck Centers provides aftermarket support through parts distribution, maintenance, repair and collision services.

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