Phocas Financial Corp. Cuts Position in Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R)

Key Points

• Phocas Financial Corp. reduced its stake in Ryder System, Inc. by 5.2%, owning 44,107 shares, which is valued at approximately $6.34 million.
• Ryder System reported earnings per share (EPS) of $3.32, exceeding analyst estimates of $3.11, with a revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.81 to $0.91, representing a 2.1% yield, to be paid on September 19th.

Phocas Financial Corp. trimmed its stake in Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,107 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 2,438 shares during the period. Phocas Financial Corp. owned 0.11% of Ryder System worth $6,343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of R. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in Ryder System by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,905,223 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $298,853,000 after purchasing an additional 45,393 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Ryder System by 0.3% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,456,453 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $209,453,000 after acquiring an additional 4,912 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ryder System by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 805,571 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $126,362,000 after buying an additional 24,052 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Ryder System by 5.5% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 527,906 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $75,918,000 after purchasing an additional 27,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ryder System by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 456,968 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $71,680,000 after acquiring an additional 82,893 shares during the last quarter. 87.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ryder System

In related news, CFO Cristina Gallo-Aquino sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.87, for a total value of $180,870.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,561 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,804,088.07. This represents a 3.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director E Follin Smith sold 5,523 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.66, for a total value of $981,216.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,001,177.14. This trade represents a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,582 shares of company stock valued at $8,158,745 in the last three months. 5.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ryder System Stock Performance

R traded down $0.40 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $175.17. 42,141 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 382,257. Ryder System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.54 and a 1 year high of $184.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.90 and a beta of 1.00. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $162.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.50.

Ryder System (NYSE:R - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported $3.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.21. Ryder System had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The company had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.00 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Ryder System, Inc. will post 13.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ryder System Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Ryder System's previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Ryder System's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on R shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Ryder System from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $159.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Barclays started coverage on shares of Ryder System in a research report on Monday, June 9th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Ryder System from $186.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Ryder System from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Ryder System to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $186.50.

Ryder System Profile

Ryder System, Inc operates as a logistics and transportation company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Fleet Management Solutions (FMS), Supply Chain Solutions (SCS), and Dedicated Transportation Solutions (DTS). The FMS segment offers full-service leasing and leasing with flexible maintenance options; commercial vehicle rental services; and contract or transactional maintenance services of trucks, tractors, and trailers; access to diesel fuel; and fuel planning and tax reporting, cards, and monitoring services, and centralized billing, as well as sells used vehicles through its retail sales centers and www.ryder.com/used-trucks website, as well as digital and technology support services.