ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS – Get Rating)’s stock price traded up 9.9% on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $62.15 and last traded at $61.42. 571 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 100% from the average session volume of 114,235 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.88.The software maker reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.38. ePlus had a return on equity of 16.16% and a net margin of 5.63%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share.
Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of ePlus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 18th. Zacks Investment Research cut ePlus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 6th.
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PLUS. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ePlus in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. New Century Advisors LLC increased its stake in ePlus by 161.9% during the first quarter. New Century Advisors LLC now owns 736 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd purchased a new stake in ePlus during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ePlus by 28.3% in the third quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 463 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings in shares of ePlus by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 928 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. 92.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.64.
About ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS)
ePlus inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides information technology (IT) solutions that enable organizations to optimize their IT environment and supply chain processes in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Technology and Financing. The Technology segment offers hardware, perpetual and subscription software, maintenance, software assurance, and internally provided and outsourced services; and professional and managed services, including ePlus managed, professional, security, ePlus cloud consulting, staff augmentation, server and desktop support, and project management services.