Wall Street Zen Downgrades ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) to Hold

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of ePlus from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Zacks Research lowered shares of ePlus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, ePlus currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

ePlus Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PLUS opened at $74.86 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.00. ePlus has a fifty-two week low of $53.83 and a fifty-two week high of $93.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $81.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.69.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Darren S. Raiguel sold 311 shares of ePlus stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.69, for a total transaction of $27,582.59. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 57,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,058,611.53. The trade was a 0.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ePlus

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Argent Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ePlus by 0.7% during the third quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 20,703 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,470,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ePlus by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,210 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $2,429,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ePlus by 47.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 439 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in ePlus by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,129 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $450,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in ePlus by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 904 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. 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.