ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $80.93, but opened at $71.25. ePlus shares last traded at $73.29, with a volume of 23,971 shares trading hands.

The software maker reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.37). ePlus had a return on equity of 11.83% and a net margin of 5.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded ePlus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ePlus

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in ePlus by 91.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 342 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of ePlus by 6,140.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 312 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in ePlus by 256.8% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 421 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in ePlus by 203.2% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 376 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI bought a new stake in ePlus during the third quarter valued at $76,000. Institutional investors own 93.80% of the company’s stock.

ePlus Stock Down 11.1 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The company has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.85, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.10.

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.