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

Shares of National Research Corporation (NASDAQ:NRC) gapped up prior to trading 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 trading hands.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on NRC. Zacks Research raised National Research to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Citizens Jmp boosted their target price on National Research from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

Institutional Trading of National Research

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of National Research in the first quarter worth about $180,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in National Research in the 1st quarter worth approximately $226,000. Empirical Finance LLC purchased a new stake in National Research in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $431,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in National Research by 61.3% during the 1st 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 bought a new stake in National Research during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,531,000. Institutional investors own 47.26% of the company’s stock.

National Research Price Performance

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

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

National Research Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 29th will be given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 29th. National Research’s payout ratio is presently 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.