ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) Stock Price Up 13.2% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) shot up 13.2% on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $95.35 and last traded at $93.3350. Approximately 19,404 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 213,214 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.43.

The software maker reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.35. ePlus had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 4.91%. The company had revenue of $667.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.10 million.

ePlus Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 24th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. ePlus’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Darren Raiguel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.83, for a total value of $90,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 68,036 shares in the company, valued at $6,179,709.88. The trade was a 1.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John Callies sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.09, for a total transaction of $44,045.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,648 shares in the company, valued at $1,818,882.32. This trade represents a 2.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 7,500 shares of company stock valued at $709,495 in the last three months. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ePlus

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PLUS. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ePlus in the 2nd quarter valued at about $337,929,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted 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 purchasing an additional 48,158 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in ePlus by 118.2% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in ePlus in the second quarter valued at approximately $22,888,250. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in ePlus by 9.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 278,636 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $20,968,000 after purchasing an additional 24,348 shares during the period. 93.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ePlus Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.79.

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.