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

The Shyft Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHYF) was the target of a significant 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. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 251,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days.

The Shyft Group Price Performance

SHYF stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $9.45. The stock had a trading volume of 235,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 279,839. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The Shyft Group has a 52 week low of $8.27 and a 52 week high of $17.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $330.11 million, a P/E ratio of -104.99 and a beta of 1.69. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.21.

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

The Shyft Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The Shyft Group’s payout ratio is currently -222.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SHYF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of The Shyft Group in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. DA Davidson raised 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 report on Wednesday, January 15th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Shyft Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SHYF. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $38,038,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216,701 shares in the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in The Shyft Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,789,000. Manatuck Hill Partners LLC boosted its position in The Shyft Group by 183.3% during the 4th quarter. Manatuck Hill Partners LLC now owns 425,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,990,000 after buying an additional 275,000 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in The Shyft Group by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,156,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,581,000 after buying an additional 203,758 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in The Shyft Group by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 496,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,829,000 after buying an additional 115,430 shares during the period. 85.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.