Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ:JKHY) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ:JKHY) was the target of a large decline in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,660,000 shares, a decline of 8.3% from the October 15th total of 1,810,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 501,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days. Approximately 2.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JKHY has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Jack Henry & Associates from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Compass Point began coverage on Jack Henry & Associates in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $186.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Jack Henry & Associates from $186.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Jack Henry & Associates in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on Jack Henry & Associates in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $206.00 price objective for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $188.73.

Jack Henry & Associates Price Performance

JKHY traded down $1.15 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $172.06. The company had a trading volume of 429,429 shares, compared to its average volume of 454,716. Jack Henry & Associates has a twelve month low of $151.59 and a twelve month high of $189.63. The company has a market capitalization of $12.55 billion, a PE ratio of 31.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $179.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $171.05.

Jack Henry & Associates (NASDAQ:JKHY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The technology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.02. Jack Henry & Associates had a net margin of 17.79% and a return on equity of 21.81%. The business had revenue of $600.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $599.56 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.39 earnings per share. Jack Henry & Associates’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Jack Henry & Associates will post 5.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jack Henry & Associates Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Jack Henry & Associates’s payout ratio is currently 40.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jack Henry & Associates

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Jack Henry & Associates by 6,680.1% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 115,398 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $19,158,000 after purchasing an additional 113,696 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in shares of Jack Henry & Associates by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 212,731 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,318,000 after purchasing an additional 6,173 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Jack Henry & Associates by 23.3% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 359,330 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $62,426,000 after purchasing an additional 67,816 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Jack Henry & Associates by 569.9% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 6,049 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,051,000 after purchasing an additional 5,146 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Jack Henry & Associates by 285.3% in the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,204 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 3,113 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.75% of the company’s stock.

Jack Henry & Associates Company Profile

Jack Henry & Associates, Inc, a financial technology company that connects people and financial institutions through technology solutions and payment processing services that reduce the barriers to financial health. It operates through four segments: Core, Payments, Complementary, and Corporate and Other.