Short Interest in Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R) Drops By 16.1%

Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 428,400 shares, a decline of 16.1% from the March 31st total of 510,800 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 281,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on R shares. StockNews.com upgraded Ryder System from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ryder System from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ryder System from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Stephens upped their price objective on Ryder System from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of Ryder System in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ryder System has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.83.

Ryder System Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE R traded down $1.07 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $122.03. The company had a trading volume of 463,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 267,888. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Ryder System has a fifty-two week low of $77.60 and a fifty-two week high of $123.79. The company has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $115.35 and its 200 day moving average is $111.11.

Ryder System (NYSE:R) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.06 billion. Ryder System had a net margin of 2.95% and a return on equity of 18.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.81 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ryder System will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ryder System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. Ryder System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director E Follin Smith sold 3,671 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.16, for a total transaction of $437,436.36. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,413 shares in the company, valued at $4,577,293.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CMO Karen M. Jones sold 7,737 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.48, for a total value of $877,994.76. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,396 shares in the company, valued at $1,406,698.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director E Follin Smith sold 3,671 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.16, for a total value of $437,436.36. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,577,293.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,408 shares of company stock worth $2,270,631 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ryder System

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Ryder System by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,442,545 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $396,099,000 after buying an additional 890,986 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in Ryder System by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,666,621 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $178,245,000 after acquiring an additional 40,086 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in Ryder System by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,629,618 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $187,504,000 after acquiring an additional 59,156 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ryder System by 12.3% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 845,253 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $90,400,000 after purchasing an additional 92,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ryder System by 7.9% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 775,382 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $82,927,000 after purchasing an additional 56,851 shares during the period. 87.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ryder System

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.