Shares of Ryder System R scaled a 52-week high of $150.95 in the trading session on Oct. 11, 2024, before closing a tad lower at $150.72.

The company’s shares have gained 31.9% over the past six months, steadily outperforming the 21.4% rise of the industry it belongs to.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Why the Uptick in the Ryder Stock?

Ryder’s bottom line has been benefiting from its consistent efforts to reward its shareholders through dividends and share buybacks are appreciative. In 2022, Ryder paid dividends of $123 million and repurchased shares worth $557 million. In 2023, Ryder paid dividends of $128 million and repurchased shares worth $337 million. During the first six months of 2024, Ryder paid dividends of $66 million and repurchased shares worth $141 million. Such shareholder-friendly moves indicate the company’s commitment to creating value for shareholders and underline its confidence in its business.

Highlighting its pro-investor stance,on July 12, 2024, Ryder’s board of directors approved a dividend hike of 14.1%, thereby raising its quarterly cash dividend to 81 cents per share ($3.24 annualized) from 71 cents ($2.84 annualized). The raised dividend will be paid out on Sept. 20, 2024, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Aug. 19. The move reflects R’s intention to utilize free cash to enhance its shareholders’ returns.

This marks Ryder’s 192nd consecutive quarterly cash dividend. Notably, Ryder has been making uninterrupted dividend payments for more than 48 years. This highlights its financial bliss.

Further, Ryder has an impressive earnings surprise history. The company's earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 12.37%. Ryder has updated its 2024 adjusted earnings per share guidance between $11.90 and $12.40 compared with the prior guided range of $11.75-$12.50. The Zacks Consensus Estimate of $12.20 lies within the updated guidance.

For 2024, the company has raised the lower end of its adjusted ROE (return on equity) guidance in the 16%-16.5% band (prior view: 15.5%-16.5%).

Ryder's cost-cutting initiatives in response to the weak freight market conditions are also commendable. Notably, the company has reduced its 2024 capital expenditure guidance to around $2.9 billion from the $3.2 billion expected previously.

Higher free cash flow generation expectation (this reflects lower capital spending due to softer lease sales activity) for the full year is an added positive. For 2024, Ryder now expects to generate $150-$250 million of free cash flow, which marks an improvement of almost $400 million from the prior expectation of $(175)-$(275) million.