12th Street Asset Management Company LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA)

Key Points

• 12th Street Asset Management Company LLC reduced its holdings in Rush Enterprises by 34.8%, selling 143,723 shares and now owning 268,835 shares, which represents 2.4% of its portfolio.
• Analysts downgraded Rush Enterprises from a "buy" rating to a "hold," with a price target decrease from $63.00 to $61.00.
• Rush Enterprises reported a net income of $0.90 EPS for the last quarter, which surpasses the consensus estimate of $0.80 EPS, with revenue of $1.93 billion.

12th Street Asset Management Company LLC cut its position in Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Free Report) by 34.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 268,835 shares of the company's stock after selling 143,723 shares during the quarter. Rush Enterprises makes up approximately 2.4% of 12th Street Asset Management Company LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. 12th Street Asset Management Company LLC owned about 0.34% of Rush Enterprises worth $14,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Rush Enterprises in the 4th quarter worth approximately $234,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Rush Enterprises by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,183 shares of the company's stock worth $613,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Rush Enterprises by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 5,169 shares of the company's stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 789 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Rush Enterprises by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 25,268 shares of the company's stock worth $1,384,000 after buying an additional 746 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Rush Enterprises during the 4th quarter worth approximately $685,000. 84.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on RUSHA shares. Stephens reduced their target price on Rush Enterprises from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Rush Enterprises from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th.

Rush Enterprises Price Performance

NASDAQ RUSHA traded up $1.22 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $54.77. The stock had a trading volume of 181,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 429,654. The firm's 50 day moving average is $51.85 and its 200 day moving average is $53.72. Rush Enterprises, Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.30 and a twelve month high of $65.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.62, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.85.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.10. Rush Enterprises had a return on equity of 13.29% and a net margin of 3.73%. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Rush Enterprises, Inc. will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rush Enterprises Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. This is a boost from Rush Enterprises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Rush Enterprises's dividend payout ratio is 20.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rush Enterprises news, COO Jason Wilder sold 748 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.08, for a total value of $41,947.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 84,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,748,405.76. This trade represents a 0.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael L. Goldstone sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total value of $234,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 12,510 shares of the company's stock, valued at $651,771. This trade represents a 26.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,731 shares of company stock valued at $303,634 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 12.28% of the company's stock.

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.