Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 604,300 shares, a decline of 8.4% from the September 15th total of 659,400 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 186,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BLKB. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Blackbaud to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Blackbaud from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Blackbaud from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Blackbaud from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $90.67.

Blackbaud Stock Up 1.6 %

BLKB traded up $1.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $86.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 124,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 231,896. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 211.22 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. Blackbaud has a 1 year low of $64.32 and a 1 year high of $88.56. The stock's 50-day moving average is $81.87 and its 200-day moving average is $78.78.

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $287.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $289.26 million. Blackbaud had a net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 18.54%. The business's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Blackbaud will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Blackbaud announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 30th that permits the company to buyback $800.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 18.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackbaud

In other Blackbaud news, SVP Jon W. Olson sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total value of $304,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 29,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,251,728. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Sarah E. Nash sold 3,220 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.18, for a total transaction of $245,299.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 26,823 shares in the company, valued at $2,043,376.14. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jon W. Olson sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total transaction of $304,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 29,628 shares in the company, valued at $2,251,728. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,409 shares of company stock worth $4,483,193. 1.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackbaud

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BLKB. DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackbaud during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Blackbaud by 2,950.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 427 shares of the technology company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Blackbaud by 447.8% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 2,542 shares of the technology company's stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 2,078 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Blackbaud in the second quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Blackbaud by 23.6% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,956 shares of the technology company's stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.21% of the company's stock.

Blackbaud Company Profile

Blackbaud, Inc provides cloud software solutions to nonprofits, foundations, education institutions, and healthcare organizations in the United States and internationally. The company offers fundraising and engagement solutions, such as Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT, Blackbaud CRM, Blackbaud eTapestry, Blackbaud Luminate Online, Blackbaud TeamRaiser, JustGiving, Blackbaud Fundraiser Performance Management, Blackbaud Guided Fundraising, and Blackbaud Altru; and financial management solutions comprising Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT, Blackbaud Tuition Management, and Blackbaud Financial Aid and Billing Management.