EVERTEC (NYSE:EVTC) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

EVERTEC, Inc. (NYSE:EVTC - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $32.34, but opened at $35.45. EVERTEC shares last traded at $36.17, with a volume of 113,959 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EVTC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of EVERTEC in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised shares of EVERTEC from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Susquehanna upgraded shares of EVERTEC from a "negative" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $28.00 to $30.00 in a report on Thursday.

EVERTEC Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The company's 50 day moving average price is $33.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.60, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.15.

EVERTEC Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. EVERTEC's payout ratio is presently 11.56%.

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Insider Buying and Selling at EVERTEC

In other EVERTEC news, EVP Miguel Vizcarrondo sold 8,123 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.09, for a total value of $276,913.07. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 113,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,883,362.35. This trade represents a 6.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EVERTEC

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EVTC. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of EVERTEC by 4,525.0% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 740 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of EVERTEC in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of EVERTEC by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,174 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of EVERTEC by 199.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,193 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of EVERTEC in the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. 96.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About EVERTEC

EVERTEC, Inc engages in transaction processing business and financial technology in Latin America and the Caribbean. The company operates through four segments: Payment Services - Puerto Rico & Caribbean; Latin America Payments and Solutions; Merchant Acquiring; and Business Solutions. It provides merchant acquiring services, which enable point of sales and e-commerce merchants to accept and process electronic methods of payment, such as debit, credit, prepaid, and electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards.