Evertec (NYSE:EVTC) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Shares of Evertec, Inc. (NYSE:EVTC) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 592,360 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 71% from the previous session’s volume of 346,496 shares.The stock last traded at $29.65 and had previously closed at $29.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on EVTC. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Evertec from $37.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Evertec in a research note on Monday. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Evertec in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Evertec from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Evertec from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Evertec currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.80.

Evertec Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

Evertec Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 3rd. Evertec’s payout ratio is presently 8.89%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of Evertec in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Evertec by 132.6% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 763 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in Evertec by 479.1% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,355 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 1,121 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in Evertec in the third quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Evertec in the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Institutional investors own 96.80% of the company’s stock.

Evertec Company Profile

EVERTEC, Inc engages in transaction processing business and financial technology in Latin America and the Caribbean. The company operates through four segments: Payment Services – Puerto Rico & Caribbean; Latin America Payments and Solutions; Merchant Acquiring; and Business Solutions. It provides merchant acquiring services, which enable point of sales and e-commerce merchants to accept and process electronic methods of payment, such as debit, credit, prepaid, and electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards.