Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) Short Interest Update

Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,830,000 shares, a decline of 16.5% from the December 15th total of 3,390,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 367,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.7 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Steven L. Keller sold 43,875 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.68, for a total value of $2,793,960.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 83,365 shares in the company, valued at $5,308,683.20. This represents a 34.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO William M. Rusty Rush sold 117,500 shares of Rush Enterprises stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.98, for a total value of $7,517,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 174,154 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,142,372.92. This represents a 40.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 176,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,167,173. 12.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Rush Enterprises in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Rush Enterprises by 266.1% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Rush Enterprises by 147.5% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 787 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Rush Enterprises in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in Rush Enterprises during the third quarter worth approximately $58,000. 84.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rush Enterprises Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RUSHA traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $60.10. 314,239 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 287,244. The company has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.40. Rush Enterprises has a 1 year low of $40.99 and a 1 year high of $65.15.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.02. Rush Enterprises had a net margin of 3.93% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Rush Enterprises will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rush Enterprises Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. Rush Enterprises's payout ratio is 19.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Stephens upped their price target on Rush Enterprises from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st.

About Rush Enterprises

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, Blue Bird, and Dennis Eagle.

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