ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) Trading 8.4% Higher After Earnings Beat

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS)’s share price rose 8.4% on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $80.25 and last traded at $79.53. Approximately 21,311 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 194,476 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.37.

The software maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.58. ePlus had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 5.47%.The firm had revenue of $608.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $518.30 million.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised ePlus from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of ePlus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ePlus in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Trading of ePlus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PLUS. Argent Capital Management LLC raised its position in ePlus by 0.7% in the third quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 20,703 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of ePlus by 47.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 439 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in ePlus by 0.4% during the third quarter. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,210 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,429,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of ePlus by 33.6% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 632 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vista Finance LLC boosted its stake in shares of ePlus by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vista Finance LLC now owns 4,794 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.80% of the company’s stock.

ePlus Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of 18.54, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $72.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.00.

About ePlus

ePlus inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides information technology (IT) solutions that enable organizations to optimize their IT environment and supply chain processes in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Technology and Financing. The Technology segment offers hardware, perpetual and subscription software, maintenance, software assurance, and internally provided and outsourced services; managed services or infrastructure and cloud; and enhanced maintenance support, service desk, storage-as-a-service, cloud hosted and managed, and managed security services; and professional, staff augmentation, cloud consulting, consulting, and security services.