National Research (NASDAQ:NRC) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Shares of National Research Corporation (NASDAQ:NRC) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $25.00 and last traded at $25.0750, with a volume of 31,592 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $24.07.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on NRC shares. Zacks Research raised National Research to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of National Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of National Research from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on shares of National Research from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.00.

National Research Stock Up 0.3%

The firm has a market cap of $581.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.31 and a beta of 0.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $21.47 and its 200 day moving average is $19.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.13.

National Research (NASDAQ:NRC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $38.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.80 million. National Research had a return on equity of 171.97% and a net margin of 4.48%. Analysts forecast that National Research Corporation will post 0.97 EPS for the current year.

National Research Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 29th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 29th. National Research’s payout ratio is currently 228.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NRC. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of National Research by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 501,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,632,000 after purchasing an additional 171,082 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of National Research by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 250,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,257,000 after purchasing an additional 9,730 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in National Research by 374.3% during the first quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 237,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,027,000 after purchasing an additional 187,147 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in National Research by 3.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 112,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,910,000 after purchasing an additional 3,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp acquired a new stake in National Research during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,531,000. Institutional investors own 47.26% of the company’s stock.

About National Research

National Research Corporation, formerly traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol NRC, provides research, analytics and performance-improvement services to the health care industry. Through its NRC Health business, the company helps hospitals, health systems and other care organizations understand and improve patient, consumer and employee experiences.

Its offerings have included patient and employee surveys, market research, reputation management, loyalty and engagement programs, benchmarking, and software tools that turn feedback and other data into operational insights.