Vestcor Inc Makes New Investment in Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA)

Vestcor Inc bought a new stake in shares of Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 4,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its position in Rush Enterprises by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,174,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $273,356,000 after purchasing an additional 1,336,528 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rush Enterprises by 1,398.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 509,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,909,000 after buying an additional 475,384 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Rush Enterprises by 5,379.0% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 334,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,345,000 after buying an additional 328,711 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Rush Enterprises by 148.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 308,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,282,000 after buying an additional 183,965 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Rush Enterprises in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,822,000. 84.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rush Enterprises Stock Up 0.7 %

Rush Enterprises stock opened at $53.95 on Tuesday. Rush Enterprises, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.99 and a 52 week high of $65.43. The stock has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $58.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. Rush Enterprises had a net margin of 3.90% and a return on equity of 14.76%. On average, analysts expect that Rush Enterprises, Inc. will post 3.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rush Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Rush Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.30%.

Insider Activity at Rush Enterprises

In other news, Director Michael Mcroberts sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.52, for a total transaction of $234,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $922,918.92. This trade represents a 20.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Jody Pollard sold 11,250 shares of Rush Enterprises stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.43, for a total value of $634,837.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,117 shares in the company, valued at $175,892.31. The trade was a 78.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 12.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Rush Enterprises in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th.

About Rush Enterprises

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.