ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded ePlus from "buy" to "hold" and other firms (Weiss, Zacks) have similarly cut ratings, leaving a MarketBeat consensus of "Hold."
• Despite the downgrades, ePlus reported strong Q results—$1.45 EPS vs. $1.01 expected and $614.8M revenue vs. $529.6M—and analysts forecast ~3.78 EPS for the year; the stock trades around $74.86 with a market cap of $1.98B and a P/E of 14.88.
• Insiders made a small sale (COO sold 311 shares) while institutional ownership is very high (~93.8%), led by large holders such as Vanguard.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday.

PLUS has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of ePlus from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Zacks Research lowered shares of ePlus from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

ePlus Trading Down 2.7%

PLUS stock opened at $74.86 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $81.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.55. ePlus has a 12-month low of $53.83 and a 12-month high of $93.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.00.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The software maker reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.44. ePlus had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 5.63%.The business had revenue of $614.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $529.60 million. On average, research analysts predict that ePlus will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Darren S. Raiguel sold 311 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.69, for a total transaction of $27,582.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 57,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,058,611.53. This represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.93% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PLUS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of ePlus by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,453,215 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $215,147,000 after purchasing an additional 8,146 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ePlus by 17.2% in the second quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,624,923 shares of the software maker's stock worth $117,157,000 after buying an additional 238,070 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in ePlus by 0.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,019,061 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $73,474,000 after buying an additional 8,956 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ePlus by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,006,035 shares of the software maker's stock worth $71,439,000 after acquiring an additional 78,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AltraVue Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of ePlus by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. AltraVue Capital LLC now owns 1,002,883 shares of the software maker's stock worth $71,215,000 after acquiring an additional 7,460 shares during the last quarter. 93.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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