Rush Enterprises, Inc. $RUSHA Shares Purchased 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 increased its stake in Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Free Report) by 59.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,842 shares of the company's stock after purchasing 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.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Rush Enterprises by 73.3% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 882,911 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,156,000 after purchasing an additional 373,531 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Rush Enterprises during the 4th quarter valued at $10,628,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Rush Enterprises in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $9,667,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Rush Enterprises by 116.5% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 299,038 shares of the company's stock worth $16,384,000 after purchasing an additional 160,922 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Rush Enterprises by 423.4% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 132,259 shares of the company's stock worth $7,064,000 after acquiring an additional 106,991 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.43% of the company's stock.

Rush Enterprises Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:RUSHA traded down $0.18 during trading on Monday, reaching $58.07. The stock had a trading volume of 36,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 409,721. The stock has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.88. Rush Enterprises, Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.30 and a 52 week high of $65.43. The firm's fifty day moving average is $55.24 and its 200 day moving average is $53.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Rush Enterprises, Inc. will post 3.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rush Enterprises Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. 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 yield of 1.3%. Rush Enterprises's payout ratio is currently 21.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael L. Goldstone sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.25, for a total value of $257,625.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 12,510 shares of the company's stock, valued at $716,197.50. This trade represents a 26.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Jason Wilder sold 4,980 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.55, for a total value of $276,639.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 79,692 shares in the company, valued at $4,426,890.60. This trade represents a 5.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,480 shares of company stock worth $862,104. Insiders own 12.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.