Paymentus (NYSE:PAY) Cut to Neutral at Robert W. Baird

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird downgraded Paymentus to “neutral” from “outperform” and set a $34 price target, implying 7.16% downside from the stock’s $36.62 opening price.
• Paymentus reported quarterly EPS of $0.21, beating estimates by $0.04, while revenue reached $358.44 million—up 30.2% year over year and above consensus.
• Despite the downgrade, analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average $35.20 price target; institutional investors own 78.38% of the company.

Paymentus (NYSE:PAY - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $34.00 target price on the business services provider's stock. Robert W. Baird's price objective would indicate a potential downside of 7.16% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Paymentus from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered Paymentus from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paymentus currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $35.20.

Paymentus Stock Up 7.3%

Paymentus stock opened at $36.62 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of 64.25 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.75. Paymentus has a twelve month low of $20.11 and a twelve month high of $39.38.

Paymentus (NYSE:PAY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The business services provider reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $358.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $335.45 million. Paymentus had a return on equity of 13.75% and a net margin of 5.78%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Paymentus will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paymentus

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in Paymentus during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,008,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Paymentus by 88.7% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 18,300 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 8,600 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Paymentus by 155.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 349,993 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,890,000 after acquiring an additional 212,778 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Paymentus by 77.1% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 64,131 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,629,000 after purchasing an additional 27,921 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Paymentus by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,943 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paymentus Company Profile

Paymentus is a U.S.-based financial technology company that specializes in cloud-native bill payment and presentment solutions. Its platform enables businesses and government entities to manage the entire payment lifecycle, from electronic bill presentment and real-time payment processing to reconciliation and reporting. Through web portals, mobile applications, interactive voice response (IVR) systems and in-person channels, Paymentus helps clients streamline accounts receivable operations, enhance customer engagement and reduce operational costs.

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, Paymentus has built a modular suite of services that can be tailored to the needs of various industries.

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