SG Americas Securities LLC Takes $219,000 Position in The Shyft Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHYF)

SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Shyft Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHYF) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 17,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Shyft Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,819,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Shyft Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,292,000. Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of The Shyft Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in The Shyft Group by 516.6% in the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 92,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,386,000 after acquiring an additional 77,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in The Shyft Group by 113.4% in the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 302,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,526,000 after acquiring an additional 160,687 shares in the last quarter. 85.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at The Shyft Group

In related news, CEO John Albert Dunn acquired 4,545 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $11.00 per share, for a total transaction of $49,995.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 35,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $394,834. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.26% of the company’s stock.

The Shyft Group Price Performance

Shares of SHYF opened at $11.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $395.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.95 and a beta of 1.67. The Shyft Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.81 and a twelve month high of $27.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a 50 day moving average of $11.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.81.

The Shyft Group (NASDAQ:SHYF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($0.08) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $202.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $205.40 million. The Shyft Group had a net margin of 0.74% and a return on equity of 4.91%. As a group, analysts predict that The Shyft Group, Inc. will post 0.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Shyft Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The Shyft Group’s payout ratio is currently 111.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of The Shyft Group from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.00.

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.