Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Increases Stock Position in PAR Technology Corporation $PAR

Key Points

• Stephens Investment Management Group boosted its PAR Technology stake by 77.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 123,831 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 282,790 shares worth about $10.26 million.
• PAR Technology reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.10 versus estimates of $0.07 and revenue of $123.97 million, up 19.4% year over year.
• Despite the earnings beat, the stock has been under pressure: shares were trading around $14.68, well below the 52-week high of $72.15, while analysts currently rate it Moderate Buy with an average price target of $30.67.

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of PAR Technology Corporation (NYSE:PAR - Free Report) by 77.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 282,790 shares of the software maker's stock after buying an additional 123,831 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC owned 0.70% of PAR Technology worth $10,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of PAR Technology by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,304,052 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $119,871,000 after purchasing an additional 12,250 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of PAR Technology by 17.3% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,237,004 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $128,121,000 after purchasing an additional 476,839 shares in the last quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. grew its holdings in PAR Technology by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 1,732,318 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $68,565,000 after buying an additional 249,923 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of PAR Technology by 34.4% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 979,962 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $38,789,000 after purchasing an additional 250,850 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of PAR Technology by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 972,424 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $38,489,000 after buying an additional 32,621 shares during the period.

PAR Technology Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of PAR stock opened at $14.68 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $605.51 million, a P/E ratio of -7.85 and a beta of 1.32. The business's 50 day moving average is $14.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.62. PAR Technology Corporation has a twelve month low of $11.59 and a twelve month high of $72.15.

PAR Technology (NYSE:PAR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The software maker reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $123.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.88 million. PAR Technology had a negative net margin of 16.04% and a negative return on equity of 2.57%. PAR Technology's quarterly revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.01) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that PAR Technology Corporation will post -0.05 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Bryan A. Menar sold 1,636 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.27, for a total transaction of $29,889.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 63,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,155,705.39. This represents a 2.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Michael Anthony Steenberge sold 2,342 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.49, for a total value of $40,961.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 26,439 shares of the company's stock, valued at $462,418.11. The trade was a 8.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 90,689 shares of company stock valued at $1,600,226 in the last three months. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PAR shares. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on PAR Technology from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of PAR Technology from $60.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of PAR Technology in a research report on Friday, March 13th. BTIG Research lowered their target price on shares of PAR Technology from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Benchmark dropped their price target on shares of PAR Technology from $42.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.67.

PAR Technology Company Profile

PAR Technology Corp is a provider of enterprise software and hardware solutions for the hospitality, foodservice and retail industries. The company's platforms are designed to streamline front- and back-of-house operations, covering point-of-sale (POS) systems, kitchen display and dispatch, inventory and labor management, and reporting tools. PAR's integrated approach enables operators of full-service restaurants, quick-service chains, bars, hotels, casinos and retail outlets to centralize data and automate workflows across multiple sites.

Key offerings include PAR Brink, a cloud-native POS application that supports touchscreen, mobile and tablet devices; PAR Cloud Services, which delivers software updates, reporting and analytics through a subscription model; and hardware solutions such as payment terminals, handheld devices and self-service kiosks.

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