ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $95.22, but opened at $85.00. ePlus shares last traded at $85.02, with a volume of 11,030 shares changing hands.

The software maker reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $515.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $576.50 million. ePlus had a net margin of 5.08% and a return on equity of 11.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut ePlus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Elaine D. Marion sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.19, for a total transaction of $460,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 64,442 shares in the company, valued at $5,940,907.98. This trade represents a 7.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ePlus

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of ePlus by 68.0% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 64,597 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $5,073,000 after buying an additional 26,143 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of ePlus during the 1st quarter worth $649,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of ePlus by 25.1% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 27,490 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,157,000 after purchasing an additional 5,508 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of ePlus by 175.7% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 10,902 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $803,000 after purchasing an additional 6,948 shares during the period. Finally, Argent Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of ePlus by 60.9% in the second quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 12,683 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $934,000 after purchasing an additional 4,802 shares during the period. 93.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ePlus Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $95.46 and a 200 day moving average of $86.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

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.