ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $88.65, but opened at $83.15. ePlus shares last traded at $79.0950, with a volume of 46,432 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of ePlus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ePlus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of ePlus from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

ePlus Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $82.06 and its 200-day moving average is $84.65. The firm has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.04.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The software maker reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.02. ePlus had a net margin of 5.63% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The business had revenue of $581.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $569.25 million. As a group, research analysts predict that ePlus inc. will post 4.74 EPS for the current year.

ePlus Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This is a boost from ePlus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. ePlus’s payout ratio is 19.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Darren S. Raiguel sold 1,000 shares of ePlus stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.95, for a total value of $89,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 55,748 shares in the company, valued at $5,014,532.60. This trade represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,289 shares of company stock valued at $115,757. Company insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ePlus

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in ePlus by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,129 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Inceptionr LLC increased its stake in ePlus by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 3,419 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in ePlus by 30.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 904 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in ePlus by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,544 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $662,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its stake in shares of ePlus by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 3,859 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 93.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ePlus Company Profile

ePlus Inc (NASDAQ:PLUS) is a technology solutions provider that helps enterprises and public-sector organizations maximize the value of their information technology investments. The company specializes in designing, implementing and managing complex IT infrastructures, with a focus on security, cloud computing, data center modernization and unified communications. By combining consulting services with software license management and hardware procurement, ePlus delivers end-to-end solutions that align with its clients’ strategic objectives.

The company’s offerings include cybersecurity assessments and managed security services, hybrid and public cloud deployments, network architecture and optimization, and collaboration platforms.