ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 20.7% in March to 1,205,790 shares, equal to about 4.7% of shares sold short and a short-interest ratio of 4.8 days based on average daily volume.
• Quarterly results materially beat expectations: ePlus reported $1.45 EPS vs. $1.01 expected and $614.77M in revenue vs. $529.6M, with a market cap around $2.17 billion and analysts forecasting ~3.78 EPS for the fiscal year.
• ePlus pays a $0.25 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.00, ~1.2% yield) and faces mixed analyst sentiment (recent downgrades to Hold but a Zacks upgrade to Strong Buy); insiders sold a small stake while institutional investors own about 93.8% of the stock.

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,205,790 shares, a growth of 20.7% from the March 15th total of 999,199 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 250,470 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.8 days. Approximately 4.7% of the company's shares are sold short.

ePlus Stock Up 1.9%

ePlus stock opened at $82.31 on Friday. ePlus has a 12-month low of $57.44 and a 12-month high of $93.98. The firm's fifty day moving average is $79.39 and its 200 day moving average is $82.13. The company has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 16.36, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.01.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The software maker reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.44. ePlus had a net margin of 5.63% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company had revenue of $614.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $529.60 million. Sell-side analysts expect that ePlus will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ePlus Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. ePlus's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of ePlus from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ePlus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of ePlus from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ePlus presently has an average rating of "Buy".

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Darren S. Raiguel sold 400 shares of ePlus stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.05, for a total transaction of $35,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 57,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,049,491.40. This trade represents a 0.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Medina Value Partners LLC acquired a new position in ePlus during the third quarter worth $2,730,000. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new position in ePlus during the third quarter worth $1,161,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in ePlus by 14.8% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 102,884 shares of the software maker's stock worth $7,306,000 after buying an additional 13,225 shares during the last quarter. Andra AP fonden raised its holdings in ePlus by 285.4% during the third quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 17,730 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,259,000 after buying an additional 13,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in ePlus by 17.1% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 156,356 shares of the software maker's stock worth $11,103,000 after buying an additional 22,865 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.80% of the company's stock.

ePlus Company Profile

ePlus Inc NASDAQ: PLUS is a technology solutions provider that helps enterprises and public-sector organizations maximize the value of their information technology investments. The company specializes in designing, implementing and managing complex IT infrastructures, with a focus on security, cloud computing, data center modernization and unified communications. By combining consulting services with software license management and hardware procurement, ePlus delivers end-to-end solutions that align with its clients' strategic objectives.

The company's offerings include cybersecurity assessments and managed security services, hybrid and public cloud deployments, network architecture and optimization, and collaboration platforms.

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