Ryder System (NYSE:R) Upgraded at Baird R W

Baird R W upgraded shares of Ryder System (NYSE:R - Free Report) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

R has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Ryder System from $174.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on Ryder System in a report on Tuesday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $186.00 price objective for the company. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Ryder System in a report on Monday, June 9th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ryder System from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Ryder System from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $159.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $172.17.

Ryder System Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:R traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $171.28. The stock had a trading volume of 85,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 324,225. Ryder System has a 12-month low of $117.17 and a 12-month high of $173.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $7.08 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 0.97. The company's 50 day moving average is $150.65 and its 200-day moving average is $152.09.

Ryder System (NYSE:R - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.17 billion. Ryder System had a return on equity of 17.64% and a net margin of 3.96%. The firm's revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ryder System will post 13.68 EPS for the current year.

Ryder System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. Ryder System's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.25%.

Insider Transactions at Ryder System

In related news, CEO Robert E. Sanchez sold 18,496 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.73, for a total value of $2,880,382.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 40,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,357,521.52. This represents a 31.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director E Follin Smith sold 1,243 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.38, for a total value of $179,464.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 39,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,746,612.76. This trade represents a 3.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ryder System

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of R. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ryder System during the fourth quarter worth approximately $314,075,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ryder System in the 4th quarter worth about $97,844,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Ryder System by 16.2% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,984,836 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $429,249,000 after acquiring an additional 415,103 shares during the period. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new position in Ryder System during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,475,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Ryder System by 20,298.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183,789 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $26,431,000 after purchasing an additional 182,888 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.47% of the company's stock.

About Ryder System

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.