Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) Short Interest Up 54.0% in August

Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,910,000 shares, an increase of 54.0% from the August 15th total of 1,240,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 239,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on RUSHA shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Rush Enterprises from $40.00 to $45.33 in a report on Monday, June 19th. StockNews.com started coverage on Rush Enterprises in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Rush Enterprises from $48.00 to $52.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th.

Insider Activity at Rush Enterprises

In other Rush Enterprises news, SVP Jody Pollard sold 3,202 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.51, for a total transaction of $136,127.69. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,032. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 17.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Rush Enterprises

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in Rush Enterprises by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 24,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,280,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Motco bought a new position in Rush Enterprises in the fourth quarter valued at about $10,712,000. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Rush Enterprises by 110.1% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 20,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 10,806 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Rush Enterprises by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Rush Enterprises by 35.2% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 16,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $852,000 after purchasing an additional 4,241 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.52% of the company’s stock.

Rush Enterprises Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RUSHA traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $40.00. 479,167 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 163,419. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.29. Rush Enterprises has a 52 week low of $28.48 and a 52 week high of $46.30. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.70.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter. Rush Enterprises had a return on equity of 21.10% and a net margin of 4.93%. Sell-side analysts predict that Rush Enterprises will post 3.98 EPS for the current year.

Rush Enterprises Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 7th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 6th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Rush Enterprises’s payout ratio is 15.28%.

Rush Enterprises Company Profile

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, and Blue Bird.