Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) Stock Has Average Target Price of $46.00 According to Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on Rush Enterprises, with three buys, one hold and one sell; the average 12-month price target is $46.00, below the reported share price of $47.98.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.40 in EPS versus a $0.38 estimate and revenue of $1.90 billion, slightly above consensus.
• Rush Enterprises reduced its quarterly dividend to $0.14 from $0.19, while insiders sold approximately $9.1 million of stock during the last quarter.

Shares of Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Hold" by the five research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.00.

Several research firms recently weighed in on RUSHA. Weiss Ratings raised Rush Enterprises from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Stephens upped their price objective on Rush Enterprises from $40.00 to $42.22 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research cut Rush Enterprises from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Rush Enterprises from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 5th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $56.67 target price (up from $52.00) on shares of Rush Enterprises in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th.

Rush Enterprises Stock Down 0.1%

Rush Enterprises stock opened at $47.98 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Rush Enterprises has a twelve month low of $30.45 and a twelve month high of $55.74. The company's 50-day moving average price is $45.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.09.

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

Rush Enterprises Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. This is a decrease from Rush Enterprises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Rush Enterprises's payout ratio is presently 25.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rush Enterprises

In other news, CEO William M. Rusty Rush sold 161,041 shares of Rush Enterprises stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.02, for a total value of $5,801,054.69. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 391,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,115,163.69. The trade was a 29.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael McRoberts sold 14,625 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.20, for a total value of $529,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 36,514 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,321,644.52. This trade represents a 28.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 252,561 shares of company stock worth $9,092,298. 12.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rush Enterprises

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Rush Enterprises during the fourth quarter worth about $776,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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. Granite Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Rush Enterprises by 124.1% in the 1st quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 143,619 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,495,000 after buying an additional 79,535 shares in the last quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Rush Enterprises during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,655,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rush Enterprises by 83.9% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 724,410 shares of the company's stock worth $47,920,000 after acquiring an additional 330,553 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.43% of the company's stock.

About Rush Enterprises

Rush Enterprises, Inc operates Rush Truck Centers, a network of commercial vehicle dealerships serving the transportation and related industries in the United States. The company sells new and used heavy- and medium-duty trucks, including vehicles from manufacturers such as Peterbilt, International, Isuzu, Ford and IC Bus.

In addition to vehicle sales, Rush Truck Centers provides aftermarket support through parts distribution, maintenance and repair services, mobile service, collision repair, equipment leasing and rental, and other solutions designed to support commercial fleets.

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