Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R) Short Interest Up 33.9% in February

Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R) saw a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,110,000 shares, a growth of 33.9% from the January 31st total of 829,000 shares. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 330,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ryder System

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in Ryder System by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 5,028 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $733,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Ryder System by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,719 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $834,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Ryder System by 83.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 9,260 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,350,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ryder System by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,360 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,677,000 after purchasing an additional 1,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd boosted its holdings in Ryder System by 37.5% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 3,888 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.47% of the company’s stock.

Ryder System Stock Performance

Shares of R stock opened at $158.63 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $160.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.39. The firm has a market cap of $6.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 1.29. Ryder System has a 1 year low of $106.88 and a 1 year high of $171.78. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.06. Ryder System had a return on equity of 17.23% and a net margin of 3.87%. Analysts predict that Ryder System will post 13.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Ryder System Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Ryder System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.22%.

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.