Priority Technology (NASDAQ:PRTH) Announces Earnings Results

Priority Technology (NASDAQ:PRTH) posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.06, FiscalAI reports. Priority Technology had a net margin of 5.85% and a negative return on equity of 77.48%. The company had revenue of $249.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $242.87 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Priority Technology’s conference call:

• Strong Q1 results — revenue of $249.6M (+11%), adjusted gross profit $98.8M (+13%), adjusted EBITDA $58.1M (+13%) and adjusted EPS $0.28 (+27%).
• Payables and Treasury drove growth — Payables revenue +35.6% and Treasury +17.5%, together accounting for ~63% of adjusted gross profit and increasing the share of recurring, higher-value revenue.
• Margin mix pressures — Payables gross margin declined ~210 bps and Treasury margins ~370 bps due to mix shifts, lower-margin acquisitions and GAAP gross-vs-net recognition effects that could weigh on segment margins.
• Balance sheet and guidance maintained — $1.02B debt, ~$192M liquidity, net leverage ~4.0x (improved from 4.2x), $28M free cash flow in Q1, and full-year revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance reaffirmed.
• Merchant solutions mixed — merchant revenue up 6.7% and card volume +2.5%, but average merchant accounts edged down and some verticals (restaurants, construction, legal) remain soft while real estate and retail showed strength.

Priority Technology Price Performance

PRTH traded down $0.34 on Wednesday, reaching $5.84. 103,323 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 296,970. The company has a market cap of $480.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.21 and a beta of 1.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $5.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.56. Priority Technology has a 52-week low of $4.44 and a 52-week high of $8.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on PRTH shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Priority Technology from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Priority Technology in a research note on Friday, March 27th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Priority Technology from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. TD Securities reduced their target price on Priority Technology from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Priority Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $8.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Priority Technology

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Priority Technology by 57.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,863 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Priority Technology by 10.2% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 26,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,000 after buying an additional 2,425 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Priority Technology by 25.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 2,648 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Priority Technology by 14.4% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 25,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in Priority Technology by 3.9% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 88,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,000 after buying an additional 3,303 shares in the last quarter. 11.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Priority Technology

Priority Technology Acquisition Corp is a special purpose acquisition company formed to effect a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, recapitalization or similar business combination with one or more businesses in the technology sector. As a blank-check company, it does not conduct any operations of its own and holds the proceeds from its initial public offering in a trust account pending the identification and completion of a business combination.

The company’s management team is focused on evaluating target businesses that offer scalable technology products or services, including software, digital platforms and related infrastructure.