National Research (NASDAQ:NRC) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

National Research Corporation (NASDAQ:NRC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $23.00 and last traded at $22.2450, with a volume of 5181 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $22.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on NRC shares. Weiss Ratings raised National Research from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on National Research in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $23.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, National Research presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

National Research Stock Up 0.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $515.06 million, a P/E ratio of 58.05 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $19.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.00.

National Research (NASDAQ:NRC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $34.80 million for the quarter. National Research had a return on equity of 122.73% and a net margin of 6.52%.

National Research Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. National Research’s dividend payout ratio is 164.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NRC. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in National Research in the 1st quarter valued at about $118,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of National Research by 168.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 108,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 67,882 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of National Research by 394.2% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 52,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 41,806 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of National Research in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in National Research by 6.4% during the second quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 13,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. 47.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About National Research

National Research Corp (NASDAQ: NRC), also known as NRC Health, is a healthcare analytics and performance improvement company specializing in patient and employee experience measurement. The company’s cloud-based platform enables healthcare providers to collect real-time feedback through patient satisfaction surveys, post-discharge outreach, and employee engagement tools. NRC Health integrates clinical, operational and financial data to deliver actionable insights that support quality improvement initiatives and value-based care programs.

Since its founding in the early 1990s and headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska, National Research has expanded beyond its regional roots to serve more than 1,600 hospitals and 12,000 care sites across the United States and Canada.