Synovus Financial Corp Purchases 5,073 Shares of Rush Enterprises, Inc. $RUSHA

Key Points

• Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in Rush Enterprises, Inc. by 24% in Q1, now holding 26,194 shares valued at approximately $1.40 million.
• Rush Enterprises recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.90 for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, while announcing an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.19.
• Institutional investors own 84.43% of Rush Enterprises' stock, indicating a strong institutional interest in the company.

Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Free Report) by 24.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,194 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,073 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Rush Enterprises were worth $1,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rush Enterprises by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 15,900 shares of the company's stock worth $871,000 after buying an additional 1,656 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Rush Enterprises during the 4th quarter worth $398,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rush Enterprises by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 36,689 shares of the company's stock worth $2,010,000 after buying an additional 1,560 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Rush Enterprises by 121.5% during 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. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Rush Enterprises during the 4th quarter worth $550,000. 84.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rush Enterprises Price Performance

Rush Enterprises stock traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $57.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 230,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 325,211. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.85. Rush Enterprises, Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.30 and a twelve month high of $65.43. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $54.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.33.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.89 billion. Rush Enterprises had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 13.29%. Research analysts forecast that Rush Enterprises, Inc. will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Rush Enterprises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. 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 payout ratio is presently 21.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RUSHA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Rush Enterprises from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Rush Enterprises in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $61.00.

Insider Transactions at Rush Enterprises

In other news, SVP Michael L. Goldstone sold 4,500 shares of Rush Enterprises stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.25, for a total transaction of $257,625.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 12,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,197.50. The trade was a 26.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael Mcroberts sold 6,000 shares of Rush Enterprises stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.64, for a total transaction of $327,840.00. Following the sale, the director owned 15,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $861,727.44. This trade represents a 27.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,480 shares of company stock worth $862,104. 12.28% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.