Paychex (PAYX) Projected to Post Quarterly Earnings on Wednesday

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) will likely be issuing its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Wednesday, March 26th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.48 per share and revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Paychex's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect Paychex to post $5 EPS for the current fiscal year and $5 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Paychex Stock Performance

NASDAQ PAYX traded down $2.21 on Friday, hitting $143.02. The stock had a trading volume of 4,764,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,779,917. Paychex has a one year low of $114.72 and a one year high of $158.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $51.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.11, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.98. The company's 50-day moving average is $147.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.63.

Remove Ads

Paychex Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Paychex's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $148.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $133.23.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Paychex stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX - Free Report) by 26.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,710 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Paychex were worth $801,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.47% of the company's stock.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.