StockNews.com Downgrades ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) to Hold

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

ePlus Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PLUS opened at $95.04 on Wednesday. ePlus has a 12 month low of $53.53 and a 12 month high of $102.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average of $91.88 and a 200 day moving average of $82.15.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The software maker reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $544.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $555.23 million. ePlus had a net margin of 4.98% and a return on equity of 12.32%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ePlus will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at ePlus

In other ePlus news, CFO Elaine D. Marion sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.19, for a total value of $460,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 64,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,940,907.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ePlus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PLUS. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in ePlus by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,418 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,231,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ePlus by 134.6% in the 4th quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 8,269 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $660,000 after acquiring an additional 4,744 shares during the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ePlus by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 9,188 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. Gobi Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of ePlus during the 4th quarter valued at $49,190,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in ePlus by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,403,588 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $191,902,000 after purchasing an additional 27,582 shares during the period. 93.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ePlus Company Profile

ePlus inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides information technology (IT) solutions that enable organizations to optimize their IT environment and supply chain processes in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Technology and Financing. The Technology segment offers hardware, perpetual and subscription software, maintenance, software assurance, and internally provided and outsourced services; managed services or infrastructure and cloud; and enhanced maintenance support, service desk, storage-as-a-service, cloud hosted and managed, and managed security services; and professional, staff augmentation, cloud consulting, consulting, and security services.