FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) Sets New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $201.50 and last traded at $203.07, with a volume of 1276146 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $207.32.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FDS. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on FactSet Research Systems from $282.00 to $253.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $307.00 target price on FactSet Research Systems and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, FactSet Research Systems has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $308.83.

FactSet Research Systems Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $273.60 and a 200-day moving average of $303.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.73.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The business services provider reported $4.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.36 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $607.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $599.69 million. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 25.40% and a return on equity of 30.49%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.37 EPS. FactSet Research Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.900-17.600 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that FactSet Research Systems Inc. will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. FactSet Research Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 27.99%.

FactSet Research Systems announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 18th that permits the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at FactSet Research Systems

In other news, Director Malcolm Frank sold 2,572 shares of FactSet Research Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.70, for a total value of $760,540.40. Following the sale, the director directly owned 879 shares in the company, valued at $259,920.30. This trade represents a 74.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Laurie Siegel sold 2,572 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.25, for a total transaction of $761,955.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $307,211.25. The trade was a 71.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of FactSet Research Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FDS. Running Oak Capital LLC grew its position in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 41,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,842,000 after acquiring an additional 5,072 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC acquired a new stake in FactSet Research Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,733,000. Financial Strategies Group Inc. acquired a new stake in FactSet Research Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,920,000. Investment House LLC bought a new position in FactSet Research Systems during the third quarter worth about $2,951,000. Finally, J. W. Coons Advisors LLC increased its position in FactSet Research Systems by 139.8% during the second quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 3,465 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,550,000 after buying an additional 2,020 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.24% of the company’s stock.

About FactSet Research Systems

FactSet Research Systems Inc operates as a global provider of integrated financial data and analytics to the investment community. Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, the company offers a unified platform that aggregates content from thousands of sources, delivering real-time and historical market data, company fundamentals, estimates, fixed-income information and proprietary analytics to portfolio managers, research analysts, investment bankers and risk officers.

The company’s core products include the FactSet Workstation, an application offering customizable screening, charting, portfolio analysis and news; APIs and data feeds for seamless integration into proprietary systems; and cloud-based solutions for thematic research and quantitative strategies.