ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on PLUS. Wall Street Zen cut shares of ePlus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ePlus from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ePlus presently has an average rating of “Strong Buy”.

ePlus Trading Up 2.5%

PLUS stock opened at $79.47 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $79.84 and its 200 day moving average is $81.79. The stock has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.01. ePlus has a 1-year low of $54.06 and a 1-year high of $93.98.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The software maker reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $614.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $529.60 million. ePlus had a net margin of 5.63% and a return on equity of 12.06%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ePlus will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Darren S. Raiguel sold 311 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.69, for a total transaction of $27,582.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 57,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,058,611.53. This represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ePlus

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury boosted its stake in shares of ePlus by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 12,568 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 2,295 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ePlus during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of ePlus by 28.3% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,287 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $902,000 after purchasing an additional 2,271 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of ePlus during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $291,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ePlus during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,086,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.80% of the company’s stock.

ePlus Company Profile

ePlus Inc (NASDAQ:PLUS) is a technology solutions provider that helps enterprises and public-sector organizations maximize the value of their information technology investments. The company specializes in designing, implementing and managing complex IT infrastructures, with a focus on security, cloud computing, data center modernization and unified communications. By combining consulting services with software license management and hardware procurement, ePlus delivers end-to-end solutions that align with its clients’ strategic objectives.

The company’s offerings include cybersecurity assessments and managed security services, hybrid and public cloud deployments, network architecture and optimization, and collaboration platforms.