Rush Enterprises, Inc. $RUSHA Shares Bought by PDT Partners LLC

Key Points

• PDT Partners LLC increased its stake in Rush Enterprises by 59.8%, owning 29,842 shares valued at $1,594,000 after acquiring an additional 11,172 shares in the first quarter.
• Rush Enterprises announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.19 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for August 12th.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Rush Enterprises, with the average target price set at $61.00 following a recent downgrade from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen.

PDT Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Free Report) by 59.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,842 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 11,172 shares during the quarter. PDT Partners LLC's holdings in Rush Enterprises were worth $1,594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Rush Enterprises by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,218,650 shares of the company's stock valued at $118,499,000 after acquiring an additional 41,407 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in Rush Enterprises by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,302,218 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,552,000 after acquiring an additional 79,499 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Rush Enterprises by 73.3% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 882,911 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,156,000 after acquiring an additional 373,531 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Rush Enterprises by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 879,554 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,977,000 after acquiring an additional 94,271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Rush Enterprises by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 807,290 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,117,000 after acquiring an additional 18,100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Rush Enterprises

In related news, SVP Michael L. Goldstone sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.25, for a total value of $257,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 12,510 shares in the company, valued at $716,197.50. This represents a 26.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jason Wilder sold 4,980 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 79,692 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,426,890.60. The trade was a 5.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,480 shares of company stock worth $862,104. 12.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on RUSHA. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Rush Enterprises in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Rush Enterprises from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.00.

Rush Enterprises Trading Down 0.5%

Rush Enterprises stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $58.24. 284,616 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 268,149. Rush Enterprises, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.30 and a fifty-two week high of $65.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.88. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $55.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.10. Rush Enterprises had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 13.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.89 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Rush Enterprises, Inc. will post 3.91 EPS for the current year.

Rush Enterprises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. 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. Rush Enterprises's payout ratio is presently 21.65%.

Rush Enterprises 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.