ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ:ACIW) Hits New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• ACI Worldwide hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $57.60 before closing near $56.43, reflecting strong recent momentum in the stock.
• Recent analyst views are mixed but still supportive overall: the stock has a consensus Moderate Buy rating with a $60 target price, though some firms have downgraded it to Hold.
• The company’s latest earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $0.61 versus $0.45 expected and revenue of $425.75 million, up 7.9% year over year.

ACI Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACIW - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $57.60 and last traded at $56.43, with a volume of 758115 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ACIW. Wall Street Zen cut ACI Worldwide from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. Zacks Research upgraded ACI Worldwide from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of ACI Worldwide in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ACI Worldwide from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.00.

ACI Worldwide Stock Up 0.0%

The company has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.36 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock's fifty day moving average is $46.02 and its 200 day moving average is $43.81.

ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ:ACIW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $425.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $410.08 million. ACI Worldwide had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 16.76%. The company's revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. Research analysts predict that ACI Worldwide, Inc. will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ACIW. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of ACI Worldwide by 93.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 532 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of ACI Worldwide by 226.8% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 536 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of ACI Worldwide by 80.3% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 734 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in ACI Worldwide in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in ACI Worldwide in the second quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 94.73% of the company's stock.

About ACI Worldwide

ACI Worldwide NASDAQ: ACIW is a global software company that provides electronic payment and banking solutions to financial institutions, merchants and billers. The company's platforms enable real-time processing of credit, debit, ACH, bill payments, faster payments and money transfers, as well as integrated fraud prevention services. Headquartered in Naples, Florida, ACI serves clients across banking, payments and commerce sectors worldwide.

ACI's modular suite of applications can be deployed on-premise, in the cloud or in hybrid environments to meet diverse operational needs.

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