National Research (NASDAQ:NRC) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• National Research shares rose above their 200-day moving average, reaching $21.69 and last trading at $20.94 versus a 200-day average of $18.53.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $26.00 target price, although some services recently downgraded the stock to “Hold.”
• The company beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, while declaring a $0.16 quarterly dividend—an annualized $0.64 payout yielding about 3.1%—despite a high 256% payout ratio.

National Research Corporation (NASDAQ:NRC - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $18.53 and traded as high as $21.69. National Research shares last traded at $20.94, with a volume of 96,935 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NRC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citizens Jmp boosted their price target on shares of National Research from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of National Research from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of National Research from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, National Research presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $26.00.

National Research Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $476.38 million, a P/E ratio of 83.76 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.13, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.53.

National Research (NASDAQ:NRC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.46. National Research had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 164.26%. The company had revenue of $35.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.90 million.

National Research Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 25th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 25th. National Research's payout ratio is 256.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National Research

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NRC. Heartland Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of National Research by 374.3% in the 1st quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 237,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,027,000 after buying an additional 187,147 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in National Research by 86.2% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 201,396 shares of the company's stock worth $3,383,000 after buying an additional 93,262 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp acquired a new position in National Research during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,531,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in National Research by 394.2% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 52,411 shares of the company's stock worth $671,000 after acquiring an additional 41,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in National Research by 180.8% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 49,076 shares of the company's stock worth $627,000 after acquiring an additional 31,599 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.26% of the company's stock.

National Research Company Profile

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.

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