The Hackett Group (NASDAQ:HCKT) Downgraded by Zacks Investment Research to “Hold”

The Hackett Group (NASDAQ:HCKT – Get Rating) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Zacks.com reports.

According to Zacks, “The Hackett Group, a global strategic advisory firm and an Answerthink company, is a leader in best practice research and advisory programs, benchmarking and transformation consulting services, including shared services, offshoring and outsourcing advice. Utilizing best practices and implementation insight from more than 4,000 benchmarking studies, executives use Hackett’s empirically based approach to quickly define and prioritize initiatives, and to leverage proven strategies that enable world-class performance. “

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on The Hackett Group in a research report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Hackett Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $25.00.

Shares of NASDAQ HCKT traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $23.89. 4,713 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 117,672. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $21.99. The Hackett Group has a one year low of $15.83 and a one year high of $24.48. The company has a market capitalization of $754.80 million, a PE ratio of 18.96, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.65.

The Hackett Group (NASDAQ:HCKT – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.03. The Hackett Group had a return on equity of 23.29% and a net margin of 14.90%. The business had revenue of $69.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.85 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.16 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Hackett Group will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HCKT. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in The Hackett Group by 3.3% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 57,964 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $916,000 after acquiring an additional 1,848 shares in the last quarter. Amundi Pioneer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Hackett Group by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Amundi Pioneer Asset Management Inc. now owns 187,825 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,967,000 after buying an additional 12,318 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Hackett Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $250,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of The Hackett Group by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 161,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,178,000 after buying an additional 15,075 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of The Hackett Group by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 136,148 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,671,000 after buying an additional 36,690 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.48% of the company’s stock.

The Hackett Group Company Profile (Get Rating)

The Hackett Group, Inc operates as a strategic advisory and technology consulting firm primarily in North America and internationally. It offers best practice intelligence center, an online searchable repository; best practice accelerators that provide web-based access to best practices, customized software configuration tools, and best practice process flows; advisor inquiry for access to fact-based advice on proven approaches and methods; best practice research that provides insights into the proven approaches; and peer interaction comprising member-led webcasts, annual best practice conferences, annual member forums, membership performance surveys, and client-submitted content, as well as intellectual property as-a-service and Hackett Institute programs.

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