ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on PLUS. Wall Street Zen cut shares of ePlus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered ePlus from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

ePlus Trading Up 1.9%

PLUS stock opened at $81.85 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $83.94 and a 200-day moving average of $83.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.01. ePlus has a 12 month low of $62.11 and a 12 month high of $93.98.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The software maker reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.02. ePlus had a net margin of 5.24% and a return on equity of 11.36%. The business had revenue of $581.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $569.25 million. Sell-side analysts predict that ePlus will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Darren S. Raiguel sold 1,000 shares of ePlus stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.95, for a total transaction of $89,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,014,532.60. The trade was a 1.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,289 shares of company stock worth $115,757. Insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ePlus

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLUS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ePlus by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,453,215 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $215,147,000 after purchasing an additional 8,146 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of ePlus by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,310,378 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $98,604,000 after buying an additional 48,158 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in ePlus by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,019,061 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $73,474,000 after buying an additional 8,956 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in ePlus by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,006,035 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $71,439,000 after buying an additional 78,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AltraVue Capital LLC boosted its stake in ePlus by 0.7% in the third quarter. AltraVue Capital LLC now owns 1,002,883 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $71,215,000 after buying an additional 7,460 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.80% of the company’s stock.

About ePlus

ePlus Inc (NASDAQ:PLUS) is a technology solutions provider that helps enterprises and public-sector organizations maximize the value of their information technology investments. The company specializes in designing, implementing and managing complex IT infrastructures, with a focus on security, cloud computing, data center modernization and unified communications. By combining consulting services with software license management and hardware procurement, ePlus delivers end-to-end solutions that align with its clients’ strategic objectives.

The company’s offerings include cybersecurity assessments and managed security services, hybrid and public cloud deployments, network architecture and optimization, and collaboration platforms.