Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Grows Stake in Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Rush Enterprises by 217.8%, owning 14,000 shares worth $748,000 after acquiring an additional 9,595 shares in Q1.
• Rush Enterprises recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share, up from the previous $0.18, representing an annualized yield of 1.4%.
• The company reported a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 13.29%, with earnings per share of $0.90 exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.80.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Free Report) by 217.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,000 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,595 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Rush Enterprises were worth $748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rush Enterprises by 29.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the company's stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rush Enterprises by 833.8% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,961 shares of the company's stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 1,751 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Rush Enterprises in the 4th quarter worth $210,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rush Enterprises in the 1st quarter worth $207,000. 84.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rush Enterprises Stock Down 1.0%

NASDAQ RUSHA traded down $0.53 during trading on Thursday, reaching $55.20. 234,737 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 429,011. Rush Enterprises, Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.30 and a 12-month high of $65.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.85. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $52.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.72.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Get Free Report) last issued 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. 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 13.29% and a net margin of 3.73%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Rush Enterprises, Inc. will post 3.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rush Enterprises Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Rush Enterprises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Rush Enterprises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rush Enterprises

In other news, SVP Michael L. Goldstone sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total value of $234,450.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 12,510 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $651,771. This represents a 26.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael Mcroberts sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.64, for a total transaction of $327,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $861,727.44. This trade represents a 27.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,731 shares of company stock worth $631,474. 12.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on RUSHA shares. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Rush Enterprises in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Rush Enterprises from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th.

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.