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

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

Ryder System Stock Performance

Ryder System stock traded down $1.07 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $122.03. The company had a trading volume of 463,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 267,888. Ryder System has a 52 week low of $77.60 and a 52 week high of $123.79. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

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

Ryder System Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Ryder System

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ryder System

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Ryder System by 120.7% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,437 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 1,880 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Ryder System by 8.9% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,554 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,629,000 after buying an additional 1,107 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ryder System by 2.5% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 166,812 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $20,049,000 after purchasing an additional 4,115 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Ryder System by 3.2% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 12,800 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,538,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Ryder System by 3.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 23,709 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,850,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the period. 87.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on R. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Ryder System from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ryder System from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Ryder System from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Ryder System in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ryder System from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ryder System presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.83.

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.