ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday. The company traded as high as $98.21 and last traded at $97.2220, with a volume of 16,724 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $95.36.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PLUS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded ePlus from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ePlus in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ePlus has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

ePlus Trading Down 1.1%

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $91.21 and its 200-day moving average is $85.67. The stock has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.96.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $649.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $639.95 million. ePlus had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 4.91%. On average, equities analysts predict that ePlus inc. will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ePlus Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 25th. ePlus’s payout ratio is 23.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ePlus news, Director John E. Callies sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.09, for a total value of $44,045.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,818,882.32. The trade was a 2.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Elaine D. Marion sold 4,842 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.33, for a total transaction of $466,429.86. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,635,019.47. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 14,882 shares of company stock valued at $1,419,360 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PLUS. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in ePlus in the 2nd quarter worth about $337,929,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in ePlus by 3.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,310,378 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $98,604,000 after buying an additional 48,158 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in ePlus by 118.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 579,047 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $43,573,000 after purchasing an additional 313,674 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of ePlus by 9.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 278,636 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $20,968,000 after buying an additional 24,348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC bought a new stake in ePlus during the second quarter valued at about $22,888,250. 93.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About ePlus

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ: PLUS) provides technology solutions, professional services and financing to organizations in the commercial, government, healthcare and education sectors. Through its technology business, the company helps customers plan, implement and manage information technology environments, including data center, networking, cybersecurity, collaboration, cloud and digital infrastructure solutions.

The company also offers managed and professional services, technology consulting, IT asset management, and lifecycle services.