Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE:BAH) Stock Price Up 4.2% – What’s Next?

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Co. (NYSE:BAH)’s stock price shot up 4.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $106.75 and last traded at $106.98. Approximately 812,285 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 2,275,104 shares. The stock had previously closed at $102.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BAH. William Blair downgraded shares of Booz Allen Hamilton from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays raised shares of Booz Allen Hamilton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered Booz Allen Hamilton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Booz Allen Hamilton from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Booz Allen Hamilton in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $159.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $158.27.

Booz Allen Hamilton Stock Up 2.8 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $126.74 and a 200-day moving average of $146.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The company has a market cap of $13.37 billion, a PE ratio of 15.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.55.

Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE:BAH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.07. Booz Allen Hamilton had a return on equity of 68.97% and a net margin of 7.39%. Sell-side analysts predict that Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Co. will post 6.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booz Allen Hamilton Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. This is a boost from Booz Allen Hamilton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Booz Allen Hamilton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAH. GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Booz Allen Hamilton by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 461,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $59,397,000 after purchasing an additional 3,435 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in Booz Allen Hamilton in the 4th quarter worth approximately $933,000. Cumberland Partners Ltd boosted its stake in Booz Allen Hamilton by 92.2% in the fourth quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 99,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,784,000 after buying an additional 47,655 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Booz Allen Hamilton by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 117,661 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,143,000 after acquiring an additional 18,930 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Booz Allen Hamilton by 51.7% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 951,605 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $122,472,000 after acquiring an additional 324,159 shares in the last quarter. 91.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Booz Allen Hamilton

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation provides management and technology consulting, analytics, engineering, digital solutions, mission operations, and cyber services to governments, corporations, and not-for-profit organizations in the United States and internationally. It focuses on artificial intelligence services comprising of machine learning, predictive modeling, automation and decision analytics, and quantum computing.