Dayforce (NYSE:DAY) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Dayforce's stock price gapped up from $52.88 to $65.95 before closing at $66.36, with a trading volume of over 2.28 million shares.
• Analysts maintain a positive outlook on Dayforce, with ten analysts issuing buy ratings and a consensus target price of $70.93.
• The company reported a 9.8% revenue increase year-over-year in its latest quarter, achieving $0.61 EPS, surpassing estimates of $0.52.

Dayforce, Inc. (NYSE:DAY - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $52.88, but opened at $65.95. Dayforce shares last traded at $66.36, with a volume of 2,288,693 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on DAY. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Dayforce in a report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on Dayforce from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Dayforce in a report on Monday, June 30th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Dayforce in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Dayforce from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Dayforce presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.93.

Dayforce Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $10.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 221.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $56.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.09.

Dayforce (NYSE:DAY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $464.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $457.83 million. Dayforce had a return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 2.65%. Dayforce's revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Dayforce, Inc. will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Dayforce

In related news, EVP William Everett Mcdonald sold 2,059 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.01, for a total value of $113,265.59. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 103,684 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,703,656.84. The trade was a 1.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Samer Alkharrat sold 4,659 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.69, for a total transaction of $278,095.71. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 127,632 shares in the company, valued at $7,618,354.08. This represents a 3.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,382 shares of company stock valued at $539,860. 4.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in Dayforce by 44.1% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 32,928 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,824,000 after purchasing an additional 10,081 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Dayforce by 208.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 4,859 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in shares of Dayforce in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Two Sigma Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Dayforce by 77.0% in the 2nd quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 7,012 shares of the company's stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 3,050 shares during the period. Finally, Shay Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dayforce in the 2nd quarter valued at about $249,000.

Dayforce Company Profile

Dayforce Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a human capital management (HCM) software company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers Dayforce, a cloud HCM platform that provides human resources, payroll and tax, workforce management, wallet, benefits, and talent intelligence functionalities; and Powerpay, a cloud HR and payroll solution for the small business market.

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