Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Purchases New Shares in The Shyft Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHYF)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in The Shyft Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHYF) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 11,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SHYF. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in The Shyft Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $366,000. Nova R Wealth Inc. raised its position in The Shyft Group by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nova R Wealth Inc. now owns 17,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 1,370 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in The Shyft Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $159,000. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in The Shyft Group by 49.2% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 5,548 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in The Shyft Group by 54.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 2,945 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.84% of the company’s stock.

The Shyft Group Stock Up 4.6 %

Shares of The Shyft Group stock opened at $11.23 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $385.57 million, a P/E ratio of 62.39 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.57. The Shyft Group, Inc. has a one year low of $9.81 and a one year high of $27.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $11.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.55.

The Shyft Group (NASDAQ:SHYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($0.08) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, analysts forecast that The Shyft Group, Inc. will post 0.28 earnings per share for the current year.

The Shyft Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The Shyft Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.11%.

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 shares were acquired at an average cost of $11.00 per share, with a total value of $49,995.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $394,834. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

The Shyft Group 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.