Short Interest in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) Increases By 19.1%

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 17,521,215 shares, an increase of 19.1% from the December 15th total of 14,709,075 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,712,043 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.7 days. Currently, 4.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Currently, 4.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,712,043 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PAYX. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Paychex from $137.00 to $126.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Paychex from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on Paychex from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Paychex from $139.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Argus dropped their price objective on shares of Paychex from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $125.67.

Paychex Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of Paychex stock traded down $3.76 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $107.42. 3,567,571 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,724,805. The company has a market cap of $38.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.36 and a beta of 0.91. Paychex has a 52 week low of $107.31 and a 52 week high of $161.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Friday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.03. Paychex had a return on equity of 46.38% and a net margin of 26.45%.The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.480-5.530 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Paychex will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paychex declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, January 16th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 28th. Paychex’s payout ratio is presently 97.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paychex

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Paychex by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,765,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,787,151,000 after buying an additional 5,549,511 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Paychex during the second quarter worth $302,244,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter valued at $117,809,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Paychex by 179.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,078,328 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $156,854,000 after purchasing an additional 692,533 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Paychex by 29.2% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,542,901 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $369,901,000 after purchasing an additional 574,337 shares during the last quarter. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc, founded in 1971 by B. Thomas “Tom” Golisano and headquartered in Rochester, New York, is a provider of payroll, human resources, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. The company’s core services include payroll processing and tax filing, employee benefits administration, retirement services, and workers’ compensation administration, designed to simplify back-office operations and help clients comply with regulatory and tax requirements.

Paychex offers an integrated technology platform, marketed under the Paychex Flex brand, which delivers cloud-based payroll, HR, time and attendance, and reporting tools.