The Shyft Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHYF) Short Interest Update

The Shyft Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHYF - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 448,100 shares, a growth of 23.6% from the March 15th total of 362,600 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 254,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, DA Davidson raised The Shyft Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $15.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Shyft Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SHYF. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in The Shyft Group by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,391 shares of the company's stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares in the last quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC raised its position in shares of The Shyft Group by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 202,463 shares of the company's stock worth $2,377,000 after buying an additional 1,899 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in The Shyft Group by 77.3% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,403 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 1,919 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in The Shyft Group by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 33,758 shares of the company's stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 2,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in The Shyft Group in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. 85.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

The Shyft Group Stock Performance

SHYF traded down $0.83 on Friday, hitting $8.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 298,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 291,863. The Shyft Group has a 12 month low of $6.82 and a 12 month high of $17.56. The firm has a market cap of $292.90 million, a P/E ratio of -93.56 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $8.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.30.

The Shyft Group (NASDAQ:SHYF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.09). The Shyft Group had a positive return on equity of 2.75% and a negative net margin of 0.36%. The company had revenue of $201.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.90 million. Analysts forecast that The Shyft Group will post 0.68 EPS for the current year.

The Shyft Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. The Shyft Group's payout ratio is -222.22%.

The Shyft Group Company Profile

The Shyft Group, Inc engages in the manufacture and assembly of specialty vehicles for the commercial and recreational vehicle industries in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Fleet Vehicles and Services, and Specialty Vehicles. The Fleet Vehicles and Services segment offers commercial vehicles used in the e-commerce/last mile/parcel delivery, beverage and grocery delivery, laundry and linen, mobile retail, and trades and construction industries.