Shutterstock’s (SSTK) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of Shutterstock (NYSE:SSTK) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $55.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on SSTK. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Shutterstock from $58.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Shutterstock from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st.

Shutterstock Price Performance

Shutterstock stock opened at $32.13 on Tuesday. Shutterstock has a 1 year low of $28.95 and a 1 year high of $54.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $33.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.10. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.42.

Shutterstock (NYSE:SSTK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $220.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $213.44 million. Shutterstock had a net margin of 4.03% and a return on equity of 20.39%. Shutterstock’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Shutterstock will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Shutterstock Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Shutterstock’s payout ratio is currently 117.65%.

Institutional Trading of Shutterstock

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Shutterstock by 31,733.3% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 955 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 952 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Shutterstock in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in Shutterstock in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Shutterstock by 313.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,111 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Shutterstock by 69.6% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,042 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 838 shares in the last quarter. 82.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Shutterstock

Shutterstock, Inc provides platform to connect brands and businesses to high quality content in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company offers image services consisting of photographs, vectors, and illustrations, which is used in visual communications, such as websites, digital and print marketing materials, corporate communications, books, publications, and others; footage services, including video clips, filmed by industry experts and cinema grade video effects in HD and 4K formats that are integrated into websites, social media, marketing campaigns, and cinematic productions; and music services comprising music tracks and sound effects, which are used to complement images and footage.