Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 28,179 Shares of The Shyft Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHYF)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in The Shyft Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHYF) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,739,076 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,179 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of The Shyft Group worth $26,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in The Shyft Group by 5.3% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,485,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,840,000 after acquiring an additional 125,952 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in The Shyft Group by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,062,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,270,000 after acquiring an additional 356,411 shares in the last quarter. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in The Shyft Group by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC now owns 1,039,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,852,000 after acquiring an additional 19,877 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in The Shyft Group by 0.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 702,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,489,000 after acquiring an additional 4,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in The Shyft Group by 3.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 674,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,883,000 after acquiring an additional 19,743 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.84% of the company’s stock.

The Shyft Group Stock Performance

Shares of SHYF stock opened at $11.51 on Friday. The Shyft Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.81 and a 12 month high of $27.36. The stock has a market cap of $395.14 million, a PE ratio of 63.95 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $11.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.81.

The Shyft Group (NASDAQ:SHYF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($0.08) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by $0.03. The Shyft Group had a net margin of 0.74% and a return on equity of 4.91%. The firm had revenue of $202.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $205.40 million. On average, equities analysts expect that The Shyft Group, Inc. will post 0.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Shyft Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. The Shyft Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of The Shyft Group from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.00.

Insider Transactions at The Shyft Group

In related news, CEO John Albert Dunn purchased 4,545 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $11.00 per share, with a total value of $49,995.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,894 shares in the company, valued at $394,834. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.