Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA) Stock Rating Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA) from a strong sell rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rush Enterprises in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Stephens decreased their price objective on Rush Enterprises from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 29th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $56.67 target price (up from $52.00) on shares of Rush Enterprises in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Rush Enterprises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rush Enterprises has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.26.

Rush Enterprises Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ RUSHA opened at $44.27 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.44. Rush Enterprises has a 52-week low of $30.45 and a 52-week high of $55.74. The firm has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. Rush Enterprises had a return on equity of 11.91% and a net margin of 3.70%. Equities analysts predict that Rush Enterprises will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rush Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. Rush Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rush Enterprises

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Rush Enterprises during the fourth quarter worth approximately $776,000. Granite Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Rush Enterprises by 124.1% in the first quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 143,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,495,000 after purchasing an additional 79,535 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Rush Enterprises by 83.9% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 724,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,920,000 after acquiring an additional 330,553 shares in the last quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Rush Enterprises during the 1st quarter worth about $3,655,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Rush Enterprises by 27.3% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 72,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,818,000 after purchasing an additional 15,643 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.43% of the company’s stock.

About Rush Enterprises

Rush Enterprises, Inc is a commercial vehicle solutions provider operating through the Rush Truck Centers network. The company sells new and used commercial trucks, including vehicles from manufacturers such as Peterbilt, International, Hino, Isuzu and Ford, along with related buses and specialty vehicles in selected markets.

In addition to vehicle sales, Rush provides parts, maintenance and repair services through its dealership network. Its offerings also include truck leasing and rentals, collision repair, mobile service, aftermarket products, and fleet-management and technology solutions designed to support commercial transportation operators.

Founded in 1965 and headquartered in New Braunfels, Texas, Rush has expanded from its original Peterbilt dealership into one of the largest commercial vehicle dealership networks in the United States.