Maximus (NYSE:MMS) Stock Rating Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Maximus (NYSE:MMS) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday morning,Zacks reports.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Maximus in a report on Monday, August 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Maximus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Maximus has an average rating of “Hold”.

Maximus Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE MMS opened at $52.72 on Thursday. Maximus has a one year low of $51.04 and a one year high of $100.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 2.42. The firm has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.79 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $57.31 and its 200-day moving average is $60.29.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The health services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.01. Maximus had a return on equity of 24.91% and a net margin of 7.07%.The business had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. Maximus’s quarterly revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Maximus has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.900-8.200 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Maximus will post 8.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Maximus Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Maximus’s payout ratio is currently 19.50%.

Insider Transactions at Maximus

In related news, insider Michelle Link sold 3,208 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.23, for a total transaction of $173,969.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $752,766.63. This represents a 18.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Maximus during the 2nd quarter worth about $400,186,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Maximus by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,107,278 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $135,084,000 after purchasing an additional 141,362 shares during the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. grew its holdings in Maximus by 131.8% during the second quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,982,415 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $106,575,000 after purchasing an additional 1,127,346 shares during the period. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Maximus by 3.7% during the first quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 1,172,190 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $75,137,000 after purchasing an additional 41,862 shares during the period. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC increased its position in Maximus by 236.1% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 823,262 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $71,064,000 after buying an additional 578,326 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

About Maximus

Maximus, Inc (NYSE:MMS) is a provider of government services and technology-enabled solutions. The company partners with federal, state, provincial and local governments to administer public programs, improve service delivery and support interactions between governments and the people they serve.

Its business activities include health and human services administration, employment and workforce services, child support and eligibility services, customer contact centers, program management, consulting and digital transformation.