ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

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

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. 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 downgraded 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 given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, ePlus currently has an average rating of “Strong Buy”.

ePlus Price Performance

NASDAQ PLUS opened at $79.47 on Monday. ePlus has a 1-year low of $54.06 and a 1-year high of $93.98. The company has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.80, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $79.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.79.

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

ePlus Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. ePlus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.88%.

Insider Activity at ePlus

In other news, COO Darren S. Raiguel sold 311 shares of ePlus stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.69, for a total value of $27,582.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 57,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,058,611.53. The trade was a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ePlus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury grew its position in shares of ePlus by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 12,568 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 2,295 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ePlus in the fourth quarter valued at $218,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of ePlus by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,287 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $902,000 after purchasing an additional 2,271 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of ePlus in the fourth quarter valued at $291,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ePlus in the fourth quarter valued at $2,086,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.