Jack Henry & Associates (NASDAQ:JKHY) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Jack Henry & Associates (NASDAQ:JKHY) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on JKHY. UBS Group increased their price objective on Jack Henry & Associates from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Jack Henry & Associates in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $206.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Jack Henry & Associates from $186.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Compass Point began coverage on Jack Henry & Associates in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $186.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Jack Henry & Associates in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $188.73.

Jack Henry & Associates Stock Performance

Shares of Jack Henry & Associates stock traded up $0.76 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $173.21. The company had a trading volume of 1,734,081 shares, compared to its average volume of 454,831. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $179.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.88. The stock has a market cap of $12.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.72, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Jack Henry & Associates has a 12-month low of $151.05 and a 12-month high of $189.63.

Jack Henry & Associates (NASDAQ:JKHY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The technology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $600.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $599.56 million. Jack Henry & Associates had a net margin of 17.79% and a return on equity of 21.81%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Jack Henry & Associates will post 5.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jack Henry & Associates Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Jack Henry & Associates’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jack Henry & Associates

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Jack Henry & Associates by 76.3% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 164 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in Jack Henry & Associates during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Jack Henry & Associates by 148.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 224 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jack Henry & Associates in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Jack Henry & Associates in the third quarter worth approximately $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.75% of the company’s stock.

About Jack Henry & Associates

Jack Henry & Associates, Inc, a financial technology company that connects people and financial institutions through technology solutions and payment processing services that reduce the barriers to financial health. It operates through four segments: Core, Payments, Complementary, and Corporate and Other.