Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday. 1,203,815 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 69% from the average daily volume of 711,483 shares. The stock last traded at $43.11 and had previously closed at $41.70.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on RUSHA shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rush Enterprises in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Rush Enterprises from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 11th. Stephens cut their target price on Rush Enterprises from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Zacks Research lowered Rush Enterprises from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $56.67 price target (up from $52.00) on shares of Rush Enterprises in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.26.

Rush Enterprises Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50-day moving average is $47.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. Rush Enterprises had a net margin of 3.67% and a return on equity of 11.65%. Equities analysts predict that Rush Enterprises, Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Rush Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Rush Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.34%.

Insider Activity at Rush Enterprises

In related news, Director Michael McRoberts sold 14,625 shares of Rush Enterprises stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.20, for a total value of $529,360.00. Following the sale, the director owned 36,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,321,644.52. The trade was a 28.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven Keller sold 46,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.88, for a total value of $1,669,317.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 189,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,811,495.08. The trade was a 19.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 243,062 shares of company stock worth $8,749,995. Company insiders own 12.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rush Enterprises

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RUSHA. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Rush Enterprises by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,430,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $177,426,000 after buying an additional 96,418 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rush Enterprises by 166.4% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,121,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,139,000 after purchasing an additional 700,511 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Rush Enterprises by 83.9% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 724,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,920,000 after purchasing an additional 330,553 shares during the last quarter. EULAV Asset Management raised its stake in Rush Enterprises by 59.7% in the third quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 608,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,856,000 after purchasing an additional 227,352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Rush Enterprises by 9.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 566,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,437,000 after purchasing an additional 49,009 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.43% of the company’s stock.

Rush Enterprises Company Profile

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.