Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on RUSHA. Stephens increased their price objective on Rush Enterprises from $40.00 to $42.22 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research lowered Rush Enterprises from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Rush Enterprises from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $56.67 target price (up from $52.00) on shares of Rush Enterprises in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

Rush Enterprises Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:RUSHA opened at $44.37 on Friday. Rush Enterprises has a 52-week low of $30.45 and a 52-week high of $55.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $48.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 1.45.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.02. Rush Enterprises had a return on equity of 11.65% and a net margin of 3.67%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Rush Enterprises will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael L. Goldstone sold 5,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.02, for a total transaction of $194,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 28,327 shares in the company, valued at $1,020,401.49. This represents a 16.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven L. Keller sold 46,525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.88, for a total transaction of $1,669,317.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 189,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,811,495.08. The trade was a 19.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 252,561 shares of company stock valued at $9,092,298 over the last ninety days. 12.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rush Enterprises

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RUSHA. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Rush Enterprises during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $776,000. Granite Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Rush Enterprises by 124.1% in the first quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 143,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,495,000 after purchasing an additional 79,535 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Rush Enterprises by 83.9% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 724,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,920,000 after purchasing an additional 330,553 shares during the last quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. bought a new stake in Rush Enterprises in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,655,000. Finally, SEB Asset Management AB bought a new stake in Rush Enterprises in the 1st quarter worth approximately $11,286,000. 84.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Rush Enterprises

Rush Enterprises, Inc is a commercial vehicle solutions provider that operates a network of truck dealerships under the Rush Truck Centers name. The company sells new and used commercial vehicles, including trucks and related equipment from manufacturers such as Peterbilt, International, Ford, Isuzu and Hino, serving customers in the trucking, construction, energy, public-sector and other industries.

In addition to vehicle sales, Rush Truck Centers provides aftermarket support through parts distribution, maintenance, repair and collision services.