Peregrine Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA)

Peregrine Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Free Report) by 18.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 98,321 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,675 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Rush Enterprises worth $5,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Rush Enterprises by 475.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 851 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Rush Enterprises by 121.5% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,123 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 616 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Rush Enterprises by 29.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Rush Enterprises by 71.0% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,751 shares during the period. 84.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rush Enterprises Stock Up 5.4%

Shares of Rush Enterprises stock traded up $2.80 on Tuesday, reaching $54.31. The stock had a trading volume of 925,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 397,995. Rush Enterprises, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.99 and a 1 year high of $65.43. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $50.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.89.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.01. Rush Enterprises had a return on equity of 13.82% and a net margin of 3.76%. The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Rush Enterprises, Inc. will post 3.91 EPS for the current year.

Rush Enterprises Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Rush Enterprises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on RUSHA. Wall Street Zen downgraded Rush Enterprises from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Stephens lowered their target price on Rush Enterprises from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd.

Insider Activity at Rush Enterprises

In other Rush Enterprises news, SVP Michael L. Goldstone sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total transaction of $234,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 12,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $651,771. The trade was a 26.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jason Wilder sold 748 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 84,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,748,405.76. The trade was a 0.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,731 shares of company stock worth $303,634. 12.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Rush Enterprises

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.