National Research (NASDAQ:NRC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded National Research from “hold” to “buy,” but the broader analyst consensus remains “hold,” with a $27 price target.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.21 versus $0.18 forecast and revenue of $38.4 million versus $35.8 million expected.
• National Research shares opened at $25.86 and were up 1.5%; institutional investors own 47.26% of the stock.

National Research (NASDAQ:NRC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Zacks Research upgraded National Research to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Citizens Jmp increased their price objective on shares of National Research from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of National Research from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.00.

National Research Stock Up 1.5%

NRC opened at $25.86 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $21.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $588.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.36 and a beta of 0.22. National Research has a fifty-two week low of $11.73 and a fifty-two week high of $27.41. 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 (NASDAQ:NRC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $38.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.80 million. National Research had a net margin of 4.48% and a return on equity of 171.97%. On average, research analysts expect that National Research will post 0.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National Research

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 171,082 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of National Research by 374.3% during the 1st quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 237,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,027,000 after acquiring an additional 187,147 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new stake in shares of National Research during the 1st quarter worth about $1,531,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in National Research by 61.3% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 62,329 shares of the company's stock worth $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 23,682 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in National Research by 872.7% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 39,756 shares of the company's stock worth $842,000 after acquiring an additional 35,669 shares in the last quarter. 47.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About National Research

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.

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