National Research (NASDAQ:NRC) Upgraded to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of National Research (NASDAQ:NRC) to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on NRC. Wall Street Zen downgraded National Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Citizens Jmp upped their price target on shares of National Research from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of National Research from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.00.

National Research Stock Down 3.4%

NRC stock opened at $20.08 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $456.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.32 and a beta of 0.25. National Research has a twelve month low of $11.01 and a twelve month high of $23.68. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.13.

National Research (NASDAQ:NRC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.46. National Research had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 164.26%. The company had revenue of $35.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.90 million. Analysts anticipate that National Research will post 0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Research Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 25th will be given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 25th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. National Research’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 256.00%.

Institutional Trading of National Research

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NRC. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in National Research during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $180,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in National Research during the first quarter worth $226,000. DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in National Research in the fourth quarter valued at $274,000. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in National Research in the fourth quarter valued at $296,000. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC bought a new stake in National Research during the second quarter valued at $431,000. 47.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About National Research

National Research Corporation, formerly traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol NRC and known as NRC Health, provides market research, analytics and performance-improvement services to healthcare organizations. Its solutions are designed to help hospitals, health systems and other providers understand the experiences and expectations of patients, employees, physicians and communities.

The company’s offerings have included patient-experience measurement, employee and physician engagement surveys, reputation and brand research, community health assessments, data analytics and advisory services.