ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) Short Interest Update

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,205,790 shares, an increase of 20.7% from the March 15th total of 999,199 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 250,470 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.8 days. Approximately 4.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ePlus news, COO Darren S. Raiguel sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.05, for a total transaction of $35,220.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 57,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,491.40. This represents a 0.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ePlus

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Medina Value Partners LLC bought a new position in ePlus during the third quarter valued at about $2,730,000. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new position in ePlus during the third quarter valued at about $1,161,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in ePlus by 14.8% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 102,884 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $7,306,000 after buying an additional 13,225 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden grew its position in ePlus by 285.4% during the third quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 17,730 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after buying an additional 13,130 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP grew its position in ePlus by 17.1% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 156,356 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $11,103,000 after buying an additional 22,865 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.80% of the company’s stock.

ePlus Price Performance

NASDAQ PLUS opened at $82.31 on Friday. ePlus has a 1 year low of $57.44 and a 1 year high of $93.98. The firm has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.36, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $79.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.13.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The software maker reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.44. ePlus had a net margin of 5.63% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm had revenue of $614.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $529.60 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that ePlus will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ePlus Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. ePlus’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ePlus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of ePlus from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of ePlus from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ePlus presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

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.