Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday.
According to Zacks, “ePlus Inc. serves as the parent holding company for ePlus Group, Inc., ePlus Technology of NC, Inc., ePlus Technology of PA, Inc., ePlus Technology, Inc., ePlus Government, Inc., ePlus Capital, Inc., ePlus Systems, Inc., ePlus Content Services, Inc and MLC Leasing, S.A. de C.V. “
PLUS has been the topic of several other reports. BidaskClub lowered ePlus inc. from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a hold rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of ePlus inc. in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, ValuEngine upgraded ePlus inc. from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $44.80.
Shares of ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) opened at 81.65 on Friday. ePlus inc. has a 12-month low of $42.28 and a 12-month high of $89.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.41 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $79.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.43.
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ePlus inc. declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, August 18th that allows the company to buyback 500,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the software maker to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.
In other ePlus inc. news, Director Eric D. Hovde sold 5,060 shares of ePlus inc. stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.55, for a total transaction of $402,523.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 69,103 shares in the company, valued at $5,497,143.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director C Thomas Faulders III sold 5,214 shares of ePlus inc. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.43, for a total value of $445,432.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,317 shares of company stock worth $5,665,433. Corporate insiders own 3.25% of the company’s stock.
Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Elkfork Partners LLC increased its stake in ePlus inc. by 160.0% in the first quarter. Elkfork Partners LLC now owns 884 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in ePlus inc. by 169.6% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,386 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. Palo Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in ePlus inc. during the first quarter valued at about $203,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in ePlus inc. during the second quarter valued at about $111,000. Finally, Mason Street Advisors LLC increased its stake in ePlus inc. by 7.0% in the first quarter. Mason Street Advisors LLC now owns 1,540 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. 51.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
ePlus inc. Company Profile
ePlus inc. is a holding company. The Company is engaged in the business of selling, leasing, financing and managing information technology. It operates through two segments: technology and financing. The technology segment sells information technology (IT) hardware products, third-party software and maintenance contracts, its own and third-party professional and managed services, and its software.
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