The Shyft Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHYF) Short Interest Update

The Shyft Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHYF) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 320,300 shares, a drop of 16.9% from the February 13th total of 385,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 251,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Trading of The Shyft Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of The Shyft Group in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in The Shyft Group during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in The Shyft Group by 77.3% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,919 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in The Shyft Group by 317.7% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 6,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 4,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in The Shyft Group by 301.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 5,801 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.84% of the company’s stock.

The Shyft Group Trading Up 0.1 %

The Shyft Group stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $9.45. 235,290 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 279,839. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The Shyft Group has a 12 month low of $8.27 and a 12 month high of $17.56. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $330.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -104.99 and a beta of 1.69.

The Shyft Group (NASDAQ:SHYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.09). The Shyft Group had a positive return on equity of 2.75% and a negative net margin of 0.36%. The firm had revenue of $201.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.90 million. Analysts forecast that The Shyft Group will post 0.68 EPS for the current year.

The Shyft Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The Shyft Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently -222.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson upgraded shares of The Shyft Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of The Shyft Group in a report on Tuesday, December 17th.

The Shyft Group Company Profile

The Shyft Group, Inc engages in the manufacture and assembly of specialty vehicles for the commercial and recreational vehicle industries in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Fleet Vehicles and Services, and Specialty Vehicles. The Fleet Vehicles and Services segment offers commercial vehicles used in the e-commerce/last mile/parcel delivery, beverage and grocery delivery, laundry and linen, mobile retail, and trades and construction industries.