National Research (NASDAQ:NRC) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• National Research shares jumped after Weiss Ratings upgraded the stock from “sell” to “hold,” opening at $23.72 versus a prior close of $21.75. The consensus analyst rating remains “Hold,” with a $27 price target.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.21 versus $0.18 expected and revenue of $38.4 million versus estimates of $35.8 million.
• National Research declared a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, equivalent to $0.64 annually and a 2.7% yield; institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.26% of the stock.

National Research Corporation (NASDAQ:NRC - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after Weiss Ratings upgraded the stock from a sell (d+) rating to a hold (c-) rating. The stock had previously closed at $21.75, but opened at $23.72. National Research shares last traded at $23.8950, with a volume of 2,530 shares.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on National Research from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of National Research to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of National Research from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National Research

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in National Research in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $180,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in National Research during the 1st quarter worth $226,000. Empirical Finance LLC bought a new stake in shares of National Research in the 2nd quarter valued at about $431,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 23,682 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp acquired a new position in shares of National Research in the first quarter worth approximately $1,531,000. 47.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

National Research Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.13. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $21.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.17. The firm has a market cap of $543.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.62 and a beta of 0.25.

National Research (NASDAQ:NRC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $38.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.80 million. National Research had a return on equity of 164.26% and a net margin of 4.18%. As a group, research analysts expect that National Research Corporation will post 0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Research Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 29th. National Research's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 256.00%.

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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