The Shyft Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHYF) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

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

Institutional Trading of The Shyft Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SHYF. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in The Shyft Group in the third quarter valued at about $241,000. Foundry Partners LLC raised its position in shares of The Shyft Group by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 322,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,051,000 after purchasing an additional 3,115 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its stake in The Shyft Group by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 433,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,435,000 after purchasing an additional 2,433 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in The Shyft Group by 301.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 5,801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in The Shyft Group by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 564,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,081,000 after purchasing an additional 78,550 shares in the last quarter. 85.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

The Shyft Group Price Performance

Shares of The Shyft Group stock opened at $9.39 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $328.01 million, a PE ratio of -104.32 and a beta of 1.69. The Shyft Group has a 12 month low of $8.27 and a 12 month high of $17.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $11.03 and a 200 day moving average of $12.15.

The Shyft Group (NASDAQ:SHYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $201.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 expect that The Shyft Group will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Shyft Group Announces Dividend

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

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.