Bottomline Technologies, Inc. (EPAY) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Bottomline Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:EPAY) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $30.60.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on EPAY shares. BidaskClub cut Bottomline Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “hold” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Bottomline Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, July 5th. UBS AG upgraded Bottomline Technologies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial, Inc. upgraded Bottomline Technologies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Finally, FIX upgraded Bottomline Technologies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, July 17th.

In other Bottomline Technologies news, insider Norman J. Deluca sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.33, for a total value of $69,657.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 83,554 shares in the company, valued at $2,116,422.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Norman J. Deluca sold 1,898 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total value of $55,023.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 77,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,237,796.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,625 shares of company stock valued at $242,161 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Mercantile Trust Co. boosted its position in Bottomline Technologies by 0.3% in the second quarter. First Mercantile Trust Co. now owns 13,203 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Bottomline Technologies by 0.9% in the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 70,300 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,663,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Municipal Employees Retirement System of Michigan boosted its position in Bottomline Technologies by 7.2% in the second quarter. Municipal Employees Retirement System of Michigan now owns 8,930 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. TIAA CREF Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Bottomline Technologies by 0.5% in the second quarter. TIAA CREF Investment Management LLC now owns 118,347 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,040,000 after buying an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial For Lutherans boosted its position in Bottomline Technologies by 3.1% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial For Lutherans now owns 21,840 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.46% of the company’s stock.

Shares of Bottomline Technologies (NASDAQ EPAY) opened at 29.05 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $28.28 and its 200 day moving average is $25.61. Bottomline Technologies has a 12 month low of $21.52 and a 12 month high of $31.10. The company’s market capitalization is $1.09 billion.

Bottomline Technologies (NASDAQ:EPAY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 10th. The technology company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.12. Bottomline Technologies had a positive return on equity of 4.35% and a negative net margin of 9.48%. The company had revenue of $93.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. Bottomline Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bottomline Technologies will post $1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Bottomline Technologies Company Profile

Bottomline Technologies (de), Inc is engaged in providing a set of cloud-based business payment, digital banking, fraud prevention, payment and financial document solutions. The Company helps businesses pay and get paid. It offers hosted or Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions, as well as software designed to run on-site at the customer’s location.