Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R) was the target of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,110,000 shares, an increase of 33.9% from the January 31st total of 829,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 330,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days. Currently, 2.7% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Ryder System Stock Up 1.6 %

Ryder System stock opened at $155.84 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $160.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $154.50. Ryder System has a twelve month low of $106.88 and a twelve month high of $171.78. The firm has a market cap of $6.56 billion, a PE ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Ryder System (NYSE:R) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.06. Ryder System had a net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 17.23%. On average, research analysts predict that Ryder System will post 13.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ryder System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Ryder System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of R. Phocas Financial Corp. boosted its holdings in shares of Ryder System by 35.4% during the 4th quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 46,545 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,301,000 after buying an additional 12,158 shares during the period. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ryder System during the 4th quarter worth $386,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Ryder System during the 4th quarter worth $16,317,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ryder System during the 4th quarter worth $258,000. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Ryder System during the 4th quarter worth $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on R. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Ryder System from $176.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ryder System from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Ryder System from $160.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $157.00.

Ryder System Company Profile

Ryder System, Inc operates as a logistics and transportation company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Fleet Management Solutions (FMS), Supply Chain Solutions (SCS), and Dedicated Transportation Solutions (DTS). The FMS segment offers full-service leasing and leasing with flexible maintenance options; commercial vehicle rental services; and contract or transactional maintenance services of trucks, tractors, and trailers; access to diesel fuel; and fuel planning and tax reporting, cards, and monitoring services, and centralized billing, as well as sells used vehicles through its retail sales centers and www.ryder.com/used-trucks website, as well as digital and technology support services.