Ryder System (NYSE:R) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ryder System (NYSE:R) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Ryder System from $160.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Ryder System from $176.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $157.00.

Ryder System Price Performance

Shares of R opened at $144.49 on Wednesday. Ryder System has a twelve month low of $106.88 and a twelve month high of $171.78. The company has a 50 day moving average of $156.46 and a 200-day moving average of $154.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14.

Ryder System (NYSE:R) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 17.23%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ryder System will post 13.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ryder System Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Ryder System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in Ryder System by 376.5% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 9,764 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 7,715 shares during the last quarter. James Investment Research Inc. increased its position in shares of Ryder System by 32.0% in the fourth quarter. James Investment Research Inc. now owns 12,374 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,941,000 after purchasing an additional 2,999 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ryder System by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 136,781 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $20,724,000 after acquiring an additional 17,074 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Ryder System in the 4th quarter worth about $12,242,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Ryder System by 13.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 28,780 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,196,000 after acquiring an additional 3,344 shares in the last quarter. 87.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.