Priority Technology Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRTH) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Priority Technology Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRTH) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $8.4250.

Several equities analysts have commented on PRTH shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Priority Technology in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Priority Technology from $7.50 to $6.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Lake Street Capital lowered Priority Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $13.00 to $8.05 in a report on Monday. Zacks Research downgraded Priority Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Priority Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 9th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRTH. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Priority Technology during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $67,000. Steamboat Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Priority Technology by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Steamboat Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,335,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,909,000 after purchasing an additional 58,273 shares in the last quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE purchased a new stake in shares of Priority Technology during the 2nd quarter worth $167,000. One68 Global Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Priority Technology during the 2nd quarter worth $73,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Priority Technology during the second quarter worth $1,624,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.52% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Priority Technology

Here are the key news stories impacting Priority Technology this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CEO-led take-private agreement: The all-cash transaction values Priority Technology at approximately $1.6 billion in enterprise value and would pay public shareholders $8.05 per share. The company’s board approved the agreement, making the buyout price the primary driver of investor interest. Priority Technology definitive take-private agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Limited near-term valuation gap: The announced $8.05 per-share consideration is close to the recent trading level, suggesting the market is pricing in much of the proposed transaction’s value while awaiting closing and other customary conditions. Reuters Priority Technology go-private deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst downgrade: Lake Street Capital lowered Priority Technology from “Buy” to “Hold” and reduced its price target from $13.00 to $8.05. The new target reflects the announced buyout consideration rather than expectations for additional public-market upside. Lake Street downgrade of Priority Technology
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder investigations: Several law firms, including Halper Sadeh, Ademi and Johnson Fistel, are reviewing whether the $8.05 offer fairly values the company and whether the board adequately protected investors. These reviews could create legal or closing uncertainty, although no wrongdoing has been established. Halper Sadeh Priority Technology investigation

Priority Technology Stock Up 33.8%

NASDAQ:PRTH opened at $7.80 on Tuesday. Priority Technology has a 52 week low of $4.44 and a 52 week high of $7.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $5.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $643.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.30 and a beta of 1.55.

Priority Technology (NASDAQ:PRTH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.03. Priority Technology had a negative return on equity of 104.91% and a net margin of 5.61%.The firm had revenue of $262.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $257.81 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Priority Technology will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Priority Technology Company Profile

Priority Technology Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: PRTH) is a payments technology company that provides commerce and payment-processing solutions to businesses, financial institutions and software providers. Its platform supports card payments, electronic payments and other transaction types, helping clients accept, manage and reconcile payments across in-person, online and business-to-business channels.

The company offers merchant acquiring and payment enablement services, including point-of-sale and e-commerce payment acceptance, payment gateway capabilities, automated clearing house (ACH) transactions, electronic invoicing and accounts-payable solutions.