ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

PLUS has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings raised ePlus from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered ePlus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy”.

ePlus Price Performance

Shares of PLUS stock opened at $81.27 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.78. The firm has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.01. ePlus has a one year low of $54.27 and a one year high of $93.98.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The software maker reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $614.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $529.60 million. ePlus had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 5.63%. On average, research analysts anticipate that ePlus will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

ePlus Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. ePlus’s payout ratio is currently 19.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ePlus news, COO Darren S. Raiguel sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.05, for a total value of $35,220.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 57,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,049,491.40. The trade was a 0.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ePlus

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in ePlus in the third quarter worth $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ePlus by 47.8% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 439 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC acquired a new position in shares of ePlus during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ePlus by 361.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 448 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of ePlus by 30.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 904 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.80% of the company’s stock.

ePlus Company Profile

ePlus Inc (NASDAQ:PLUS) is a technology solutions provider that helps enterprises and public-sector organizations maximize the value of their information technology investments. The company specializes in designing, implementing and managing complex IT infrastructures, with a focus on security, cloud computing, data center modernization and unified communications. By combining consulting services with software license management and hardware procurement, ePlus delivers end-to-end solutions that align with its clients’ strategic objectives.

The company’s offerings include cybersecurity assessments and managed security services, hybrid and public cloud deployments, network architecture and optimization, and collaboration platforms.