Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA) Shares Gap Up After Dividend Announcement

Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock had previously closed at $50.38, but opened at $53.17. Rush Enterprises shares last traded at $51.29, with a volume of 77,586 shares.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. Rush Enterprises’s payout ratio is 21.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RUSHA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Rush Enterprises in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Rush Enterprises from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Rush Enterprises in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Rush Enterprises currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $61.00.

Rush Enterprises Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a PE ratio of 14.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $54.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.94.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 20th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter. Rush Enterprises had a return on equity of 12.61% and a net margin of 3.57%.The business had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter. Sell-side analysts forecast that Rush Enterprises, Inc. will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Rush Enterprises news, COO Jason Wilder sold 4,980 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.55, for a total transaction of $276,639.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 79,692 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,426,890.60. This represents a 5.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael L. Goldstone sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.25, for a total value of $257,625.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 12,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,197.50. This represents a 26.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,480 shares of company stock valued at $862,104. Insiders own 12.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Rush Enterprises

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RUSHA. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Rush Enterprises by 540.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 846,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,604,000 after acquiring an additional 714,253 shares during the last quarter. Rivulet Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Rush Enterprises during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $19,286,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in Rush Enterprises by 73.3% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 882,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,156,000 after acquiring an additional 373,531 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Rush Enterprises by 91.9% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 628,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,392,000 after acquiring an additional 301,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Rush Enterprises by 303.4% during the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 352,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,179,000 after acquiring an additional 265,432 shares during the last quarter. 84.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rush Enterprises Company Profile

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.