Why Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSH.B) Could Be Worth Watching

While Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSH.B) might not be the most widely known stock at the moment, it saw a double-digit share price rise of over 10% in the past couple of months on the NASDAQGS. As a well-established company, which tends to be well-covered by analysts, you could assume any recent changes in the company’s outlook is already priced into the stock. However, could the stock still be trading at a relatively cheap price? Let’s examine Rush Enterprises’s valuation and outlook in more detail to determine if there’s still a bargain opportunity.

View our latest analysis for Rush Enterprises

What Is Rush Enterprises Worth?

The share price seems sensible at the moment according to my price multiple model, where I compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. In this instance, I’ve used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stock’s cash flows. I find that Rush Enterprises’s ratio of 9.6x is trading slightly below its industry peers’ ratio of 14.54x, which means if you buy Rush Enterprises today, you’d be paying a reasonable price for it. And if you believe that Rush Enterprises should be trading at this level in the long run, then there’s not much of an upside to gain over and above other industry peers. Furthermore, Rush Enterprises’s share price also seems relatively stable compared to the rest of the market, as indicated by its low beta. This may mean it is less likely for the stock to fall lower from natural market volatility, which suggests less opportunities to buy moving forward.

What kind of growth will Rush Enterprises generate?

Future outlook is an important aspect when you’re looking at buying a stock, especially if you are an investor looking for growth in your portfolio. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. Though in the case of Rush Enterprises, it is expected to deliver a highly negative earnings growth in the next few years, which doesn’t help build up its investment thesis. It appears that risk of future uncertainty is high, at least in the near term.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? RUSH.B seems priced close to industry peers right now, but given the uncertainty from negative returns in the future, this could be the right time to reduce the risk in your portfolio. Is your current exposure to the stock beneficial for your total portfolio? And is the opportunity cost of holding a negative-outlook stock too high? Before you make a decision on RUSH.B, take a look at whether its fundamentals have changed.

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping tabs on RUSH.B for a while, now may not be the most optimal time to buy, given it is trading around industry price multiples. This means there’s less benefit from mispricing. In addition to this, the negative growth outlook increases the risk of holding the stock. However, there are also other important factors we haven’t considered today, which can help gel your views on RUSH.B should the price fluctuate below the industry PE ratio.

With this in mind, we wouldn't consider investing in a stock unless we had a thorough understanding of the risks. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Rush Enterprises (of which 1 is a bit concerning!) you should know about.

If you are no longer interested in Rush Enterprises, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.