Zacks Research Estimates Paychex’s Q2 Earnings (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) – Research analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q2 2027 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Paychex in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, October 7th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $1.31 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.36. The consensus estimate for Paychex’s current full-year earnings is $5.96 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Paychex’s Q3 2027 earnings at $1.84 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $5.94 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $1.41 EPS, Q2 2028 earnings at $1.42 EPS, Q3 2028 earnings at $1.71 EPS, Q4 2028 earnings at $1.71 EPS, FY2028 earnings at $6.25 EPS, Q1 2029 earnings at $1.55 EPS and FY2029 earnings at $6.67 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Paychex from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $105.00 to $115.00 in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Paychex from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Paychex from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Paychex from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Paychex from $125.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $127.59.

Paychex Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $101.55 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $36.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.15, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $116.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. Paychex has a twelve month low of $85.45 and a twelve month high of $129.24.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 27.35% and a return on equity of 52.78%. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Paychex has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.896-6.006 EPS.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th were issued a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Paychex news, CFO Robert Schrader sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.09, for a total transaction of $299,234.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,547 shares in the company, valued at $2,134,574.23. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tompkins Financial Corp grew its holdings in Paychex by 2.6% during the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 14,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,389,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. grew its stake in Paychex by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 13,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,309,000 after buying an additional 792 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Paychex by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,411,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,417,067,000 after buying an additional 361,713 shares during the last quarter. Talon Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth $220,000. Finally, Rench Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Paychex by 1.2% during the second quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. now owns 56,948 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,600,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the period. 83.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Paychex News

Here are the key news stories impacting Paychex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NelsonHall named Paychex Flex and Paycor “Leaders” in its 2026 workforce-management technology evaluation. The recognition highlights Paychex’s AI-powered workforce optimization strategy, continued platform investment, and ability to address both current and future customer needs. Paychex Honored as a Workforce Management Technology Leader by NelsonHall
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its Paychex EPS forecasts for fiscal 2027 to $5.94 from $5.92 and fiscal 2028 to $6.25 from $6.22. It also increased estimates for third-quarter fiscal 2027, first-quarter fiscal 2028, third-quarter fiscal 2028, and fourth-quarter fiscal 2028, suggesting modest confidence in longer-term earnings growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: The analyst revisions were mixed rather than uniformly bullish. Zacks lowered estimates for second-quarter fiscal 2027 to $1.31 from $1.36, second-quarter fiscal 2028 to $1.42 from $1.45, and first-quarter fiscal 2029 to $1.55 from $1.59. Its fiscal 2029 forecast also declined slightly to $6.67 from $6.69. The current full-year consensus remains $5.96 per share.
• Negative Sentiment: A commentary piece raised concerns about Paychex’s attractive dividend, pointing to first-quarter cash flow and two underappreciated risks that could affect the company’s ability to support its payout. Such concerns may weigh on income-focused investors despite the stock’s strong earnings history. The Hidden Risks Behind Paychex’s Attractive Dividend

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc (NASDAQ: PAYX) provides payroll, human resources and employee benefits solutions for businesses of varying sizes. Its services are designed to help employers manage workforce administration, compliance and employee-related processes through integrated software and professional support.

The company’s offerings include payroll processing, time and attendance tracking, human resources administration, recruiting and onboarding tools, benefits administration, retirement services, workers’ compensation and business insurance solutions.