CBIZ (NYSE:CBZ) Coverage Initiated at Stephens

Key Points

• Stephens initiated coverage on CBIZ with an Equal Weight rating and a $31 price target (about 12.3% upside), while the MarketBeat consensus remains a Hold with a $41.33 average target, reflecting mixed analyst views.
• CBIZ missed the latest quarter (EPS ($0.70) vs. ($0.66) expected; revenue $542.7M vs. $578.0M) despite 17.9% year-over-year revenue growth, and the company set FY2026 guidance of 3.75–3.85 EPS.
• CFO Brad Lakhia purchased 12,775 shares at about $25.97 (a ~9.4% increase to his holdings); insiders own ~4.95% of the company while institutional investors hold ~87.4%.

Research analysts at Stephens assumed coverage on shares of CBIZ (NYSE:CBZ - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm set an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 price target on the business services provider's stock. Stephens' target price indicates a potential upside of 12.26% from the company's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on CBZ. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of CBIZ in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on CBIZ in a report on Monday, January 12th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research raised CBIZ from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on CBIZ in a report on Monday, March 30th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. Finally, CJS Securities raised CBIZ to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $41.33.

CBIZ Stock Performance

Shares of CBIZ stock opened at $27.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The business has a 50-day moving average of $29.20 and a 200 day moving average of $43.80. CBIZ has a 12 month low of $24.29 and a 12 month high of $80.65.

CBIZ (NYSE:CBZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The business services provider reported ($0.70) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.66) by ($0.04). CBIZ had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 4.19%.The business had revenue of $542.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $578.02 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.20) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. CBIZ has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CBIZ will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at CBIZ

In other CBIZ news, CFO Brad S. Lakhia bought 12,775 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.97 per share, with a total value of $331,766.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 148,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,856,025.60. This represents a 9.41% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 4.95% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CBZ. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in CBIZ by 6.2% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,725 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $889,000 after purchasing an additional 682 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in CBIZ by 4.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 29,294 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,318 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in CBIZ by 5.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 143,270 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,868,000 after purchasing an additional 7,676 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of CBIZ by 96.1% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 41,240 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,128,000 after buying an additional 20,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of CBIZ by 80.4% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 6,637 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $492,000 after buying an additional 2,957 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.44% of the company's stock.

About CBIZ

CBIZ, Inc NYSE: CBZ, founded in 1996 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, is a leading provider of professional business services in the United States. Since its inception, the company has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to deliver a broad spectrum of financial, tax and advisory solutions tailored to the needs of small to mid-market organizations.

Through its Financial & Advisory Services segment, CBIZ offers accounting, tax preparation and compliance, audit support, and wealth management services.

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