ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) from a "hold" to a "strong-buy," and the stock's consensus rating on MarketBeat is now "Strong Buy" despite mixed reviews from other firms.
• ePlus reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $1.45 EPS vs. $1.01 expected and $614.8M revenue vs. $529.6M, with analysts projecting about 3.78 EPS for the year.
• Valuation and ownership: the company has a $2.10B market cap, a P/E of 15.8 and PEG of 0.84, with institutional ownership around 93.8% and several large recent institutional buys.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on PLUS. Weiss Ratings upgraded ePlus from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen cut ePlus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ePlus presently has an average rating of "Strong Buy".

ePlus Price Performance

Shares of PLUS stock opened at $79.47 on Monday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $79.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.79. ePlus has a 1 year low of $54.06 and a 1 year high of $93.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.80, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.01.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business had revenue of $614.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $529.60 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that ePlus will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at ePlus

In other news, COO Darren S. Raiguel sold 311 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.69, for a total transaction of $27,582.59. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 57,037 shares in the company, valued at $5,058,611.53. This represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PLUS. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ePlus in the third quarter worth approximately $20,990,000. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC bought a new position in shares of ePlus in the fourth quarter worth approximately $24,681,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of ePlus by 1,209.9% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 265,373 shares of the software maker's stock worth $23,273,000 after purchasing an additional 245,114 shares during the last quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of ePlus by 787.7% in the fourth quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 181,922 shares of the software maker's stock worth $15,955,000 after purchasing an additional 161,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Medina Value Partners LLC increased its position in shares of ePlus by 410.6% in the fourth quarter. Medina Value Partners LLC now owns 196,285 shares of the software maker's stock worth $17,214,000 after purchasing an additional 157,843 shares during the last quarter. 93.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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