National Research (NASDAQ:NRC) Shares Pass Above 200-Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• National Research shares passed above their 200‑day moving average (200‑day MA $16.04), trading as high as $17.38 and last at $17.05 on volume of 55,693 shares.
• Weiss Ratings downgraded NRC to a "sell" (from "hold"), and the stock's average analyst rating on MarketBeat is listed as "Sell."
• Company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.16 (annualized $0.64, 3.8% yield), though the payout ratio is high at 128%, indicating the dividend may be unsustainably large relative to earnings.

National Research Corporation (NASDAQ:NRC - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $16.04 and traded as high as $17.38. National Research shares last traded at $17.05, with a volume of 55,693 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings lowered National Research from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Sell".

National Research Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.36, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $15.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $387.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.10 and a beta of 0.39.

National Research (NASDAQ:NRC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $35.19 million for the quarter. National Research had a return on equity of 103.84% and a net margin of 8.44%.

National Research Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 27th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 27th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. National Research's payout ratio is currently 128.00%.

Institutional Trading of National Research

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NRC. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of National Research by 86.2% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 201,396 shares of the company's stock worth $3,383,000 after acquiring an additional 93,262 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in National Research during the fourth quarter worth $938,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in National Research by 394.2% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 52,411 shares of the company's stock worth $671,000 after buying an additional 41,806 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in National Research by 180.8% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 49,076 shares of the company's stock worth $627,000 after buying an additional 31,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in National Research by 99.0% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 60,912 shares of the company's stock worth $778,000 after buying an additional 30,296 shares during the last quarter. 47.26% of the stock is 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.