StockNews.com Downgrades ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) to Hold

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

ePlus Stock Up 2.3 %

ePlus stock traded up $1.49 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $65.49. The stock had a trading volume of 313,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 217,401. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 1.83. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.15. ePlus has a 1-year low of $61.91 and a 1-year high of $106.98.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The software maker reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.37). ePlus had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 11.23%. As a group, analysts expect that ePlus will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in ePlus in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,711,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of ePlus by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 71,660 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $5,294,000 after acquiring an additional 11,193 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of ePlus by 287.1% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 12,043 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $890,000 after acquiring an additional 8,932 shares during the period. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of ePlus during the 4th quarter worth approximately $213,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of ePlus by 44.5% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,934 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 2,443 shares during the period. 93.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ePlus Company Profile

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 through two segments, Technology and Financing. The Technology segment offers hardware, perpetual and subscription software, maintenance, software assurance, and internally provided and outsourced services; managed services or infrastructure and cloud; and enhanced maintenance support, service desk, storage-as-a-service, cloud hosted and managed, and managed security services; and professional, staff augmentation, cloud consulting, consulting, and security services.