Stifel Nicolaus Boosts ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) Price Target to $80.00

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) had its target price increased by Stifel Nicolaus from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report issued on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the software maker’s stock.

Separately, Sidoti downgraded ePlus from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $83.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 8th.

ePlus Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PLUS opened at $75.43 on Monday. ePlus has a 1-year low of $41.71 and a 1-year high of $83.57. The stock has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.91 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.24 by ($0.22). ePlus had a return on equity of 15.26% and a net margin of 5.86%. The firm had revenue of $509.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $598.25 million. As a group, analysts forecast that ePlus will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John E. Callies sold 1,308 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.17, for a total value of $103,554.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,622,430.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ePlus

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ellsworth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ePlus by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 6,102 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in ePlus by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 12,696 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of ePlus by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 17,502 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ePlus by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 6,246 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ePlus by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 10,137 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $449,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. 93.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ePlus Company Profile

ePlus inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides information technology (IT) solutions that enable organizations to optimize their IT environment and supply chain processes in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Technology and Financing. The Technology segment offers hardware, perpetual and subscription software, maintenance, software assurance, and internally provided and outsourced services; and professional and managed services, including managed, professional, security solutions, cloud consulting and hosting, staff augmentation, storage-as-a-service, server and desktop support, and project management services.