The Shyft Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHYF) Short Interest Down 16.9% in February

The Shyft Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHYF) saw 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 days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Trading of The Shyft Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SHYF. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Shyft Group by 60.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,240,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,038,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216,701 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in The Shyft Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,773,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,823,000 after acquiring an additional 13,263 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in The Shyft Group by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,295,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,207,000 after acquiring an additional 70,269 shares during the last quarter. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC increased its stake in The Shyft Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC now owns 1,294,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,762,000 after purchasing an additional 17,787 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in The Shyft Group by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,156,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,581,000 after purchasing an additional 203,758 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

The Shyft Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ SHYF opened at $9.39 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $328.01 million, a PE ratio of -104.32 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.82. The Shyft Group has a 52-week low of $8.27 and a 52-week high of $17.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.15.

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

The Shyft Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The Shyft Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently -222.22%.

About The Shyft Group

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.