National Research (NASDAQ:NRC) Sets New 1-Year High After Strong Earnings

Shares of National Research Corporation (NASDAQ:NRC) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $23.83 and last traded at $23.0050, with a volume of 102,415 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.75.

The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $38.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.80 million. National Research had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 164.26%.

National Research Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 29th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 29th. National Research’s dividend payout ratio is currently 256.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on NRC shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded National Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Zacks Research upgraded National Research to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered National Research from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised their target price on National Research from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Heartland Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of National Research by 374.3% during the first quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 237,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,027,000 after purchasing an additional 187,147 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its position in National Research by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 501,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,632,000 after buying an additional 171,082 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new position in National Research in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,531,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in National Research by 61.3% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 62,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,058,000 after buying an additional 23,682 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC acquired a new position in National Research during the 2nd quarter valued at about $431,000. Institutional investors own 47.26% of the company’s stock.

National Research Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $533.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.88 and a beta of 0.25. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.13, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65.

National Research Company Profile

National Research Corporation, formerly traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol NRC, provides research, analytics and performance-improvement services to the health care industry. Through its NRC Health business, the company helps hospitals, health systems and other care organizations understand and improve patient, consumer and employee experiences.

Its offerings have included patient and employee surveys, market research, reputation management, loyalty and engagement programs, benchmarking, and software tools that turn feedback and other data into operational insights.