Paymentus (NYSE:PAY) Upgraded by Baird R W to “Strong-Buy”

Paymentus (NYSE:PAY) was upgraded by research analysts at Baird R W from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also commented on PAY. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Paymentus from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Raymond James lowered shares of Paymentus from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Paymentus to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Paymentus from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Paymentus from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Paymentus presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.06.

Paymentus Stock Performance

Shares of PAY stock opened at $19.39 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.31 and a beta of 1.46. Paymentus has a 52 week low of $9.95 and a 52 week high of $25.21. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.81.

Paymentus (NYSE:PAY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The business services provider reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $184.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.75 million. Paymentus had a net margin of 4.43% and a return on equity of 8.74%. Analysts forecast that Paymentus will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Andrew A. Gerber sold 5,576 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.85, for a total transaction of $105,107.60. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 136,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,573,703.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, General Counsel Andrew A. Gerber sold 5,576 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.85, for a total transaction of $105,107.60. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 136,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,573,703.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Andrew A. Gerber sold 1,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.81, for a total transaction of $29,625.75. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 142,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,673,126.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 87.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paymentus

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Paymentus in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new position in Paymentus in the 1st quarter worth approximately $106,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Paymentus by 2,948.4% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,786 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 4,629 shares in the last quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Paymentus in the 1st quarter worth approximately $136,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in Paymentus in the 4th quarter worth approximately $254,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.55% of the company’s stock.

Paymentus Company Profile

Paymentus Holdings, Inc provides cloud-based bill payment technology and solutions in the United States and internationally. The company offers electronic bill presentment and payment services, enterprise customer communication, and self-service revenue management to billers through a software-as-a-service technology platform.