60,198 Shares in Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) Bought by Royce & Associates LP

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP acquired a new stake of 60,198 shares in Rush Enterprises, Inc. for approximately $3.215 million, representing about 0.08% ownership as of the end of the first quarter.
• Rush Enterprises recently experienced a decrease in target price by Stephens, from $63 to $61, while Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from a "buy" to a "hold" rating.
• Rush Enterprises announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18, which contributes to an annualized yield of 1.31% and represents a payout ratio of 20.11%.

Royce & Associates LP purchased a new stake in shares of Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 60,198 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,215,000. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.08% of Rush Enterprises at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of RUSHA. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Rush Enterprises by 121.5% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,123 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Rush Enterprises by 29.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Rush Enterprises by 833.8% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,961 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in Rush Enterprises during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in Rush Enterprises during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $210,000. 84.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rush Enterprises Stock Up 1.5%

Rush Enterprises stock traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $53.90. 215,014 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 426,613. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $4.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.88. Rush Enterprises, Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.30 and a 1-year high of $65.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $51.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.85.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. Rush Enterprises had a return on equity of 13.82% and a net margin of 3.76%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Rush Enterprises, Inc. will post 3.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael L. Goldstone sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jason Wilder sold 748 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.08, for a total transaction of $41,947.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 84,672 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 5,731 shares of company stock worth $303,634 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 12.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Rush Enterprises from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Rush Enterprises from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd.

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.