Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE:BAH) Stock Price Up 4.2% - Should You Buy?

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Co. (NYSE:BAH - Get Free Report) shares traded up 4.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $106.75 and last traded at $106.98. 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group began coverage on Booz Allen Hamilton in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $159.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Booz Allen Hamilton from $185.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Booz Allen Hamilton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays raised shares of Booz Allen Hamilton from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $140.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Booz Allen Hamilton from $180.00 to $164.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $158.27.

Booz Allen Hamilton Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $125.87 and a 200-day moving average of $145.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE:BAH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.07. Booz Allen Hamilton had a return on equity of 68.97% and a net margin of 7.39%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Co. will post 6.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Booz Allen Hamilton Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is an increase from Booz Allen Hamilton's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Booz Allen Hamilton's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.79%.

Institutional Trading of Booz Allen Hamilton

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