FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) Receives Consensus Rating of "Reduce" from Brokerages

Key Points

• FactSet Research Systems has a consensus analyst rating of “Reduce” from 17 brokerage firms, with six sell ratings and nine hold ratings. The average 12-month price target is about $279.62.
• The company’s most recent quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $4.46 versus estimates of $4.37 and revenue of $611.02 million versus expectations of $604.78 million. Revenue rose 7.1% year over year.
• FactSet also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.16 per share from $1.10, giving it an annualized dividend of $4.64 and a yield of about 1.9%. The stock was up 2.2% and opened at $241.74.

Shares of FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the seventeen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $279.6154.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of FactSet Research Systems in a report on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $253.00 to $217.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $300.00 to $210.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $243.00 to $240.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of FactSet Research Systems from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FactSet Research Systems

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FDS. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 5.6% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,727 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $785,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 27.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 972 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 188.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 98 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 58.6% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 138 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of FactSet Research Systems by 15.6% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,347,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.24% of the company's stock.

FactSet Research Systems Stock Up 2.2%

NYSE:FDS opened at $241.74 on Friday. FactSet Research Systems has a 1-year low of $185.00 and a 1-year high of $453.41. The company has a 50-day moving average of $230.82 and a 200 day moving average of $243.29. The firm has a market cap of $8.81 billion, a PE ratio of 15.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.43.

FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The business services provider reported $4.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.37 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $611.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $604.78 million. FactSet Research Systems had a net margin of 24.48% and a return on equity of 30.25%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.28 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that FactSet Research Systems will post 17.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FactSet Research Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is an increase from FactSet Research Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. FactSet Research Systems's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.84%.

About FactSet Research Systems

FactSet Research Systems Inc operates as a global provider of integrated financial data and analytics to the investment community. Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, the company offers a unified platform that aggregates content from thousands of sources, delivering real-time and historical market data, company fundamentals, estimates, fixed-income information and proprietary analytics to portfolio managers, research analysts, investment bankers and risk officers.

The company's core products include the FactSet Workstation, an application offering customizable screening, charting, portfolio analysis and news; APIs and data feeds for seamless integration into proprietary systems; and cloud-based solutions for thematic research and quantitative strategies.

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