American Century Companies Inc. Buys 326,917 Shares of Rush Enterprises, Inc. $RUSHA

American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) by 38.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,173,429 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 326,917 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Rush Enterprises were worth $62,743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Rush Enterprises by 0.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,359,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,524,000 after buying an additional 6,994 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Rush Enterprises by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,179,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,054,000 after acquiring an additional 148,363 shares in the last quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. grew its position in Rush Enterprises by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 843,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,469,000 after acquiring an additional 36,600 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Rush Enterprises by 91.9% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 628,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,392,000 after acquiring an additional 301,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its holdings in Rush Enterprises by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 505,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,023,000 after purchasing an additional 14,387 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RUSHA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research raised Rush Enterprises from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Rush Enterprises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Rush Enterprises from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of Rush Enterprises in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (up from $55.00) on shares of Rush Enterprises in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rush Enterprises currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Michael L. Goldstone sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.86, for a total value of $323,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 12,590 shares in the company, valued at $904,717.40. This trade represents a 26.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Jody Pollard sold 11,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.92, for a total value of $809,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $243,449.20. The trade was a 76.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 23,750 shares of company stock valued at $1,698,950 over the last ninety days. 12.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Rush Enterprises Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:RUSHA opened at $71.31 on Thursday. Rush Enterprises, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.67 and a 1 year high of $75.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The business’s 50-day moving average is $65.00 and its 200-day moving average is $57.58. The company has a market capitalization of $5.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.91.

Rush Enterprises (NASDAQ:RUSHA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.12. Rush Enterprises had a return on equity of 11.96% and a net margin of 3.55%.The business had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Rush Enterprises, Inc. will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Rush Enterprises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 3rd. Rush Enterprises’s payout ratio is presently 23.24%.

Rush Enterprises Profile

Rush Enterprises, Inc, headquartered in New Braunfels, Texas, is a leading distributor of commercial vehicles and related products in the United States. Through its Rush Truck Centers subsidiary, the company sells new and used medium- and heavy-duty trucks, buses and specialty vehicles, while also offering factory-authorized parts, collision repair, maintenance and warranty support across its network of dealerships.

Founded in 1965, Rush Enterprises has grown to encompass more than 150 locations in over 20 states, partnering with major manufacturers including Kenworth, Peterbilt, Freightliner, Volvo and Mack.