Canaccord Genuity Group Upgrades Paymentus (NYSE:PAY) to “Strong-Buy”

Paymentus (NYSE:PAY) was upgraded by research analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Monday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Raymond James lowered Paymentus from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Paymentus from $20.00 to $22.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Citigroup raised their price target on Paymentus from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Paymentus from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Paymentus from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.06.

Paymentus Stock Performance

NYSE:PAY opened at $18.48 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $19.12 and its 200 day moving average is $18.81. Paymentus has a fifty-two week low of $9.86 and a fifty-two week high of $25.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a PE ratio of 80.35 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.02. Paymentus had a return on equity of 8.74% and a net margin of 4.43%. The company had revenue of $184.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.75 million. Equities analysts forecast that Paymentus will post 0.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Andrew A. Gerber sold 5,576 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 136,536 shares in the company, valued at $2,573,703.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, General Counsel Andrew A. Gerber sold 1,575 shares of the business’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 value of $29,625.75. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 142,112 shares in the company, valued at $2,673,126.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Andrew A. Gerber sold 5,576 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,573,703.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 87.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Paymentus

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PAY. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Paymentus during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Paymentus by 2,948.4% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,786 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 4,629 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Paymentus during the 1st quarter worth about $106,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paymentus during the 1st quarter worth about $136,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in Paymentus during the 4th quarter worth about $254,000. 12.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.