Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Buys 171,082 Shares of National Research Corporation $NRC

Key Points

• Farmers & Merchants Investments increased its National Research stake by 51.7% in the third quarter, purchasing 171,082 shares to own 501,731 shares, or approximately 2.21% of the company.
• Institutional investors collectively own 47.26% of National Research, with several funds—including Heartland Advisors and Quantinno Capital Management—also raising their positions.
• NRC shares opened at $21.93, while analyst sentiment remained mixed with a consensus “Hold” rating and a $26 price target. The company recently exceeded earnings and revenue expectations.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its stake in National Research Corporation (NASDAQ:NRC - Free Report) by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 501,731 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 171,082 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. owned approximately 2.21% of National Research worth $10,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Heartland Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in National Research by 374.3% in the first quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 237,147 shares of the company's stock worth $4,027,000 after purchasing an additional 187,147 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new stake in National Research in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,531,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in National Research by 61.3% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 62,329 shares of the company's stock worth $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 23,682 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC bought a new position in National Research in the second quarter worth approximately $431,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in National Research during the first quarter valued at about $226,000. 47.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

National Research Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NRC opened at $21.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $498.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.72 and a beta of 0.25. National Research Corporation has a one year low of $11.32 and a one year high of $23.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $21.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.13, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65.

National Research (NASDAQ:NRC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.46. National Research had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 164.26%. The company had revenue of $35.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.90 million. Equities research analysts forecast that National Research Corporation will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NRC shares. Citizens Jmp boosted their target price on shares of National Research from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of National Research to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of National Research from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded National Research from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.00.

National Research Company Profile

National Research Corporation, formerly traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol NRC, provides research, analytics and performance-improvement services to the health care industry. Through its NRC Health business, the company helps hospitals, health systems and other care organizations understand and improve patient, consumer and employee experiences.

Its offerings have included patient and employee surveys, market research, reputation management, loyalty and engagement programs, benchmarking, and software tools that turn feedback and other data into operational insights.

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