Granite Investment Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Rush Enterprises, Inc. $RUSHA

Key Points

• Granite Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Rush Enterprises by 124.1% in the first quarter, ending with 143,619 shares valued at about $9.5 million.
• Rush Enterprises reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $0.77 per share, though revenue of $1.68 billion came in slightly below estimates.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $83.67.

Granite Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Free Report) by 124.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 143,619 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 79,535 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.19% of Rush Enterprises worth $9,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in RUSHA. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Rush Enterprises by 75.4% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 407 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Rush Enterprises by 495.4% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 518 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Rush Enterprises by 211.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 545 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rush Enterprises in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Rush Enterprises by 5,790.9% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 648 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares during the period. 84.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Rush Enterprises

In other news, Director Michael Mcroberts sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.23, for a total transaction of $577,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,229 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,172,220.67. This represents a 33.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 12.68% of the company's stock.

Rush Enterprises Stock Performance

NASDAQ:RUSHA opened at $72.57 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $70.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.45. Rush Enterprises, Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.67 and a 1-year high of $76.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.89.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.05. Rush Enterprises had a net margin of 3.65% and a return on equity of 11.87%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Rush Enterprises, Inc. will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

Rush Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. Rush Enterprises's payout ratio is currently 22.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RUSHA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Rush Enterprises from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Rush Enterprises in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Rush Enterprises from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Rush Enterprises in a report on Monday, April 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Rush Enterprises from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rush Enterprises has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $83.67.

Rush Enterprises Company Profile

Rush Enterprises, Inc, headquartered in New Braunfels, Texas, is a leading distributor of commercial vehicles and related products in the United States. Through its Rush Truck Centers subsidiary, the company sells new and used medium- and heavy-duty trucks, buses and specialty vehicles, while also offering factory-authorized parts, collision repair, maintenance and warranty support across its network of dealerships.

Founded in 1965, Rush Enterprises has grown to encompass more than 150 locations in over 20 states, partnering with major manufacturers including Kenworth, Peterbilt, Freightliner, Volvo and Mack.

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