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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on SHYF. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of The Shyft Group in a research note 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 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th.

Institutional Trading of The Shyft Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHYF. Barclays PLC increased its stake in The Shyft Group by 257.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 45,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 32,906 shares during the period. Kirr Marbach & Co. LLC IN increased its stake in shares of The Shyft Group by 32.5% during the fourth quarter. Kirr Marbach & Co. LLC IN now owns 300,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,533,000 after acquiring an additional 73,773 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in The Shyft Group by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 773,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,705,000 after purchasing an additional 9,588 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in The Shyft Group by 49.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 176,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,216,000 after purchasing an additional 58,816 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in The Shyft Group by 76.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 54,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $669,000 after purchasing an additional 23,761 shares in the last quarter. 85.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Shyft Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SHYF opened at $9.40 on Wednesday. The Shyft Group has a 1-year low of $8.27 and a 1-year high of $17.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $328.22 million, a PE ratio of -104.43 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $11.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.17.

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

The Shyft Group Announces Dividend

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