What is Zacks Research's Forecast for Paychex Q2 Earnings?

Key Points

• Zacks Research has revised its Q2 2026 earnings estimate for Paychex, increasing it to $1.28 per share from $1.27, while the full-year earnings consensus is set at $4.99 per share.
• Paychex recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, with an annual yield of 3.4%, to be paid on November 26th.
• As of now, Paychex holds a consensus rating of "Reduce" among analysts, with a price target averaging $141.29.

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Zacks Research increased their Q2 2026 earnings estimates for shares of Paychex in a research report issued on Tuesday, October 14th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the business services provider will post earnings of $1.28 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.27. The consensus estimate for Paychex's current full-year earnings is $4.99 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Paychex's FY2026 earnings at $5.46 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.27 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $1.73 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $1.39 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $5.81 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $1.52 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $6.34 EPS.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Barclays set a $155.00 target price on shares of Paychex and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $140.00 to $132.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $153.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Paychex and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paychex presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $141.29.

Paychex Stock Up 0.9%

Paychex stock opened at $128.59 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $46.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Paychex has a fifty-two week low of $119.02 and a fifty-two week high of $161.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $133.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $143.36.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 30th. The business services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 27.85% and a return on equity of 45.17%. Paychex's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. Paychex has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.428-5.528 EPS.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Paychex during the third quarter worth about $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 83.8% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 215 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Paychex's payout ratio is presently 97.08%.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.

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