Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Buys Shares of 8,242 Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,242 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,293,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of R. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ryder System by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 7,894 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,282,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Ryder System by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 2,438 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ryder System by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Ryder System by 4.7% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 2,078 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Ryder System by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 362 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.47% of the company’s stock.

Ryder System Stock Performance

NYSE:R opened at $155.84 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14. Ryder System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $106.88 and a twelve month high of $171.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 1.23.

Ryder System (NYSE:R) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.06. Ryder System had a return on equity of 17.23% and a net margin of 3.87%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ryder System, Inc. will post 13.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ryder System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Ryder System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

R has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ryder System from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Ryder System from $160.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Ryder System from $176.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $157.00.

Ryder System Company Profile

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.