The Hackett Group (NASDAQ:HCKT) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of The Hackett Group (NASDAQ:HCKT) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on HCKT. Craig Hallum raised their price target on shares of The Hackett Group from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of The Hackett Group from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barrington Research boosted their target price on shares of The Hackett Group from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Hackett Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.67.

The Hackett Group Stock Performance

The Hackett Group stock opened at $30.38 on Thursday. The Hackett Group has a 12-month low of $20.23 and a 12-month high of $34.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The company has a market capitalization of $838.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $30.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.76.

The Hackett Group (NASDAQ:HCKT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $77.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.64 million. The Hackett Group had a return on equity of 36.40% and a net margin of 9.44%. On average, research analysts forecast that The Hackett Group will post 1.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hackett Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This is an increase from The Hackett Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The Hackett Group’s payout ratio is currently 45.28%.

Institutional Trading of The Hackett Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of The Hackett Group by 202.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,481,000 after buying an additional 37,695 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Hackett Group by 4.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 700,253 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,399,000 after purchasing an additional 29,699 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of The Hackett Group by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 641,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,927,000 after purchasing an additional 25,249 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of The Hackett Group by 96.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 98,884 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,598,000 after purchasing an additional 48,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in The Hackett Group by 150.2% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 251,489 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,607,000 after purchasing an additional 150,962 shares during the period. 78.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About The Hackett Group

The Hackett Group, Inc operates as an intellectual property-based executive advisory, strategic consulting, and digital transformation company in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Strategy & Business Transformation, Oracle Solutions, and SAP Solutions.