PACCAR (NASDAQ:PCAR) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Shares of PACCAR Inc. (NASDAQ:PCAR) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $119.22 and last traded at $118.7740, with a volume of 209776 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $118.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised PACCAR from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Zacks Research raised PACCAR from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Wolfe Research upgraded PACCAR from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of PACCAR in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of PACCAR in a report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PACCAR has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.04.

PACCAR Stock Down 0.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 3.12 and a quick ratio of 2.91. The company has a market capitalization of $61.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.11, a PEG ratio of 14.78 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $107.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.38.

PACCAR (NASDAQ:PCAR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.02). PACCAR had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The firm had revenue of $7.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.85 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PACCAR Inc. will post 7.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PACCAR Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. PACCAR’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PACCAR news, CFO Brice J. Poplawski sold 3,369 shares of PACCAR stock in a transaction on Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.15, for a total value of $340,774.35. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,338.20. The trade was a 87.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PACCAR

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PCAR. JT Stratford LLC bought a new stake in PACCAR during the 2nd quarter worth $1,301,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of PACCAR by 77.1% during the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 238,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,631,000 after purchasing an additional 103,664 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of PACCAR by 46.0% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 280,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,702,000 after purchasing an additional 88,551 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PACCAR in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,817,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in PACCAR by 77.9% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 228,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,510,000 after buying an additional 100,285 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.90% of the company’s stock.

PACCAR Company Profile

PACCAR Inc is a global technology leader in the design, manufacture and customer support of light-, medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles. The company’s products are marketed under well-known brand names including Kenworth, Peterbilt and DAF and span vocational and long-haul applications. PACCAR’s core business includes vehicle engineering and assembly as well as the supply of components and proprietary powertrain systems designed to meet regulatory and customer performance requirements.

In addition to truck manufacturing, PACCAR operates a comprehensive aftermarket parts business, distributes used trucks and provides commercial vehicle financing and leasing through its financial services operations.