ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) Sets New 12-Month High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• ePlus shares reached a new 52-week high of $93.99 during mid-day trading, up 1.1%, giving the company a market capitalization of approximately $2.61 billion.
• Recent analyst sentiment is cautious: Weiss Ratings maintained a hold rating, Zacks Research downgraded the stock to strong sell, and the overall consensus is “Reduce.”
• ePlus exceeded quarterly expectations with $1.00 in earnings per share and $581.63 million in revenue, while increasing its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share, or $1.08 annualized.

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $93.99 and last traded at $93.1090, with a volume of 34348 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.60.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on PLUS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of ePlus in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of ePlus from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ePlus currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce".

ePlus Stock Up 1.1%

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.02. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $84.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.08.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The software maker reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $581.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $569.25 million. ePlus had a net margin of 5.24% and a return on equity of 11.36%. On average, analysts expect that ePlus inc. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

ePlus Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is an increase from ePlus's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 17th. ePlus's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ePlus news, COO Darren S. Raiguel sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.95, for a total transaction of $89,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,748 shares in the company, valued at $5,014,532.60. This represents a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 1,289 shares of company stock worth $115,757 in the last three months. 1.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ePlus

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PLUS. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of ePlus by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 6,944 shares of the software maker's stock worth $578,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in ePlus in the second quarter valued at about $206,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in ePlus by 27.3% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,292 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in ePlus by 8.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,113 shares of the software maker's stock worth $836,000 after acquiring an additional 826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in ePlus during the first quarter worth about $1,179,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.80% of the company's stock.

About ePlus

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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