ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ:ACIW) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

ACI Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACIW)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $63.10 and last traded at $62.6510, with a volume of 127,749 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $59.19.

The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $426.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $421.91 million. ACI Worldwide had a return on equity of 17.62% and a net margin of 12.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.09 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ACIW shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ACI Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of ACI Worldwide from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ACI Worldwide from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of ACI Worldwide in a research report on Friday, October 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of ACI Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $61.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ACI Worldwide

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACIW. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in ACI Worldwide by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 12,047 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $589,000 after buying an additional 1,045 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of ACI Worldwide by 4.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,831 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. grew its stake in shares of ACI Worldwide by 109.6% during the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 16,811 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $822,000 after acquiring an additional 8,790 shares in the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in shares of ACI Worldwide by 1.6% during the third quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 77,476 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,787,000 after acquiring an additional 1,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gibbs Wealth Management increased its position in shares of ACI Worldwide by 7.6% during the third quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management now owns 20,329 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $994,000 after acquiring an additional 1,430 shares during the last quarter. 94.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ACI Worldwide Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $52.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.25 billion, a PE ratio of 28.41 and a beta of 1.00.

About ACI Worldwide

ACI Worldwide, Inc (NASDAQ: ACIW) develops and provides electronic payment software and services for merchants, banks, financial institutions, billers and other organizations. Its technology is designed to support payment acceptance, transaction processing, fraud prevention and the movement of money across digital and traditional channels.

The company’s offerings include payment orchestration and acquiring solutions, real-time payments, bill payment and electronic bill presentment, fraud management, and software for retail and enterprise payment operations.