StockNews.com Upgrades Jack Henry & Associates (NASDAQ:JKHY) to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Jack Henry & Associates (NASDAQ:JKHY) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

JKHY has been the topic of several other research reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Jack Henry & Associates in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. They set a peer perform rating on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Jack Henry & Associates in a report on Thursday, January 18th. They issued a neutral rating and a $177.00 price target on the stock. TheStreet raised shares of Jack Henry & Associates from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a report on Friday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $176.00 price target on shares of Jack Henry & Associates in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Jack Henry & Associates from $161.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $171.58.

Jack Henry & Associates Price Performance

JKHY stock opened at $165.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. Jack Henry & Associates has a 52-week low of $136.57 and a 52-week high of $178.37. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $171.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $162.20.

Jack Henry & Associates (NASDAQ:JKHY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.12. Jack Henry & Associates had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 22.67%. The firm had revenue of $545.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $540.34 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Jack Henry & Associates will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jack Henry & Associates Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is a positive change from Jack Henry & Associates’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Jack Henry & Associates’s payout ratio is 43.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Jack Henry & Associates during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Jack Henry & Associates in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Jack Henry & Associates by 62.2% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 206 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jack Henry & Associates in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, West Tower Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Jack Henry & Associates by 602.8% in the 4th quarter. West Tower Group LLC now owns 253 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. 98.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jack Henry & Associates Company Profile

Jack Henry & Associates, Inc, a financial technology company that connects people and financial institutions through technology solutions and payment processing services that reduce the barriers to financial health. It operates through four segments: Core, Payments, Complementary, and Corporate and Other.