Paychex FY2026 EPS Forecast Boosted by Zacks Research

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research increased their FY2026 EPS estimates for Paychex in a research report issued on Wednesday, April 8th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the business services provider will earn $5.50 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $5.48. The consensus estimate for Paychex’s current full-year earnings is $4.99 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Paychex’s Q1 2027 earnings at $1.31 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.35 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $5.89 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $1.54 EPS and Q2 2028 earnings at $1.45 EPS.

Several other research firms have also commented on PAYX. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $148.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $125.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Paychex to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Paychex in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $123.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Paychex has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $108.75.

Paychex Stock Performance

PAYX stock opened at $89.89 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $32.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.50. Paychex has a one year low of $86.89 and a one year high of $161.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The business services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 25.84% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,348,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,750,669,000 after acquiring an additional 4,583,157 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 59.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,265,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,395,583,000 after acquiring an additional 11,243,295 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,066,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,046,050,000 after acquiring an additional 355,294 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,550,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,295,698,000 after acquiring an additional 263,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paychex by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,705,424 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,093,958,000 after acquiring an additional 78,760 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, January 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 95.15%.

Key Stories Impacting Paychex

Here are the key news stories impacting Paychex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised some medium‑term and near‑term forecasts — including Q1 2027 to $1.31, Q1 2028 to $1.54, FY2026 to $5.50 and FY2027 to $5.89 — which suggests upside to Paychex’s longer‑run earnings trajectory and provides some offset to weaker quarters.
• Neutral Sentiment: Standalone comparative pieces (e.g., head‑to‑head analysis with Cellebrite) are informational but not likely to move the stock materially by themselves. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks trimmed Q2 estimates — Q2 2027 to $1.35 (from $1.37) and Q2 2028 to $1.45 (from $1.52) — signaling softer near‑term profitability that can pressure the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen lowered its price target slightly to $94 and kept a “hold” rating, reducing near‑term upside expectations. MarketScreener
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage summarized as a consensus “Reduce” rating adds to negative analyst sentiment and could reinforce selling pressure. Article Title

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.