Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Reduces Position in Rush Enterprises, Inc. $RUSHA

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its holdings in Rush Enterprises by 5.9%, now owning approximately 4.08 million shares valued at $218 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Rush Enterprises recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.19 per share, up from the previous $0.18, representing a 1.3% yield with a payout ratio of 21.65%.
• Despite recent institutional interest with several funds increasing their stakes, Wall Street Zen downgraded Rush Enterprises from "buy" to "hold" in recent analytics.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its stake in Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,081,986 shares of the company's stock after selling 257,562 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 5.15% of Rush Enterprises worth $218,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Rush Enterprises by 82.2% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 481 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Rush Enterprises by 121.5% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,123 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rush Enterprises by 29.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rush Enterprises by 833.8% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,961 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Rush Enterprises during the first quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Institutional investors own 84.43% of the company's stock.

Rush Enterprises Stock Up 4.7%

Shares of NASDAQ RUSHA traded up $2.66 during trading on Friday, reaching $58.90. The company had a trading volume of 407,056 shares, compared to its average volume of 383,035. Rush Enterprises, Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.30 and a 12-month high of $65.43. The stock has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.85. The business's 50-day moving average is $53.73 and its 200 day moving average is $53.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.90 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 firm had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.89 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Rush Enterprises, Inc. will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rush Enterprises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. 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. Rush Enterprises's payout ratio is 21.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rush Enterprises

In related news, COO Jason Wilder sold 4,980 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.55, for a total transaction of $276,639.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 79,692 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,426,890.60. This trade represents a 5.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael Mcroberts sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.64, for a total value of $327,840.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,771 shares in the company, valued at $861,727.44. This trade represents a 27.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 12.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on RUSHA shares. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Rush Enterprises in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Rush Enterprises from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.00.

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.