Paymentus (NYSE:PAY) Stock Rating Upgraded by Baird R W

Baird R W upgraded shares of Paymentus (NYSE:PAY) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on PAY. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Paymentus from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and set a $23.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Paymentus from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Citigroup lifted 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. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Paymentus to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Paymentus from $20.00 to $22.50 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Seven 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $19.06.

Paymentus Stock Performance

Paymentus stock opened at $19.45 on Wednesday. Paymentus has a 52-week low of $10.18 and a 52-week high of $25.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.82. The firm has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.57 and a beta of 1.46.

Paymentus (NYSE:PAY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The business services provider reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $184.88 million during 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Paymentus will post 0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Paymentus news, General Counsel Andrew A. Gerber sold 5,576 shares of Paymentus stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the general counsel now directly 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 available through this hyperlink. In other news, General Counsel Andrew A. Gerber sold 1,575 shares of Paymentus stock in a transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Andrew A. Gerber sold 5,576 shares of Paymentus stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.85, for a total value of $105,107.60. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 136,536 shares in the company, valued at $2,573,703.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 87.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paymentus

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PAY. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Paymentus in the 3rd quarter valued at about $11,806,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Paymentus by 53,916.7% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 194,460 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,475,000 after acquiring an additional 194,100 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP bought a new stake in Paymentus in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,465,000. ClariVest Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Paymentus by 128,017.4% in the 1st quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 58,934 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,341,000 after acquiring an additional 58,888 shares during the period. Finally, Wakefield Asset Management LLLP bought a new stake in Paymentus in the 4th quarter valued at about $875,000. 12.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Paymentus

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.