National Research (NASDAQ:NRC) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded National Research from “hold” to “buy.” With other recent rating improvements, the stock carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $26.00 price target.
• National Research exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.31 in EPS versus a projected loss of $0.15 and revenue of $35.39 million, slightly above estimates.
• The stock opened at $19.51, with a market capitalization of approximately $443.9 million; institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.26% of outstanding shares.

National Research (NASDAQ:NRC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on NRC. Weiss Ratings raised shares of National Research from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Citizens Jmp boosted their price objective on shares of National Research from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $26.00.

National Research Price Performance

National Research stock opened at $19.51 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $20.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.32. National Research has a 1 year low of $11.01 and a 1 year high of $23.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $443.85 million, a P/E ratio of 78.04 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.48, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.52.

National Research (NASDAQ:NRC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.46. National Research had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 142.50%. The business had revenue of $35.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.90 million.

Institutional Trading of National Research

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NRC. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of National Research by 9,535.3% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,638 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,621 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of National Research by 85.6% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,997 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 921 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in National Research during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of National Research by 85.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,496 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in National Research by 315.9% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,583 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 1,962 shares during the period. 47.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About National Research

National Research Corp NASDAQ: NRC, also known as NRC Health, is a healthcare analytics and performance improvement company specializing in patient and employee experience measurement. The company's cloud-based platform enables healthcare providers to collect real-time feedback through patient satisfaction surveys, post-discharge outreach, and employee engagement tools. NRC Health integrates clinical, operational and financial data to deliver actionable insights that support quality improvement initiatives and value-based care programs.

Since its founding in the early 1990s and headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska, National Research has expanded beyond its regional roots to serve more than 1,600 hospitals and 12,000 care sites across the United States and Canada.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.