National Research (NASDAQ:NRC) Shares Gap Up to $34.36

National Research Co. (NASDAQ:NRC)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $34.36, but opened at $35.84. National Research shares last traded at $34.37, with a volume of 2,135 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, TheStreet downgraded shares of National Research from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th.

National Research Trading Down 0.2 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.30. The firm has a market cap of $818.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.49 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

National Research (NASDAQ:NRC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $38.00 million during the quarter. National Research had a net margin of 20.84% and a return on equity of 47.79%.

National Research Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. National Research’s payout ratio is currently 38.40%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National Research

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in National Research by 7.9% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in National Research by 2.0% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 90,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,776 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in National Research by 52.4% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $375,000 after acquiring an additional 3,250 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in National Research by 0.3% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 921,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,541,000 after acquiring an additional 3,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its stake in National Research by 40.7% in the first quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 26,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 7,525 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.26% of the company’s stock.

About National Research

National Research Corporation provides analytics and insights that facilitate measurement and enhancement of the patient and employee experience. Its portfolio of subscription-based solutions provides actionable information and analysis to healthcare organizations across a range of mission-critical, constituent-related elements, including patient experience, service recovery, care transitions, employee engagement, reputation management, and brand loyalty.