StockNews.com Upgrades Jack Henry & Associates (NASDAQ:JKHY) to Buy

Jack Henry & Associates (NASDAQ:JKHY) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Jack Henry & Associates from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $167.00 to $186.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 6th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Jack Henry & Associates in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $176.00 price target on shares of Jack Henry & Associates in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Jack Henry & Associates from $161.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Jack Henry & Associates in a report on Thursday, March 7th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Jack Henry & Associates presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.00.

Jack Henry & Associates Price Performance

Shares of Jack Henry & Associates stock opened at $173.73 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $12.66 billion, a PE ratio of 34.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.66. Jack Henry & Associates has a 12-month low of $136.57 and a 12-month high of $178.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $171.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $160.55.

Jack Henry & Associates (NASDAQ:JKHY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The technology company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.12. Jack Henry & Associates had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 22.67%. The firm had revenue of $545.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $540.34 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Jack Henry & Associates will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in Jack Henry & Associates during the 4th quarter valued at about $239,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its position in Jack Henry & Associates by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 37,477 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,124,000 after purchasing an additional 3,222 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Jack Henry & Associates during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,075,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Jack Henry & Associates by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,648,977 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,413,329,000 after purchasing an additional 29,182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Jack Henry & Associates during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $230,000. 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.