FY2021 EPS Estimates for Paychex, Inc. Lowered by Analyst (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) – Equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group reduced their FY2021 EPS estimates for shares of Paychex in a research report issued on Monday, January 11th. Jefferies Financial Group analyst S. Samana now expects that the business services provider will post earnings of $2.90 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $2.92. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a “Hold” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.07. Paychex had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 26.26%. The company had revenue of $983.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $956.30 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on PAYX. Smith Barney Citigroup raised their target price on Paychex from $93.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 5th. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on Paychex from $78.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 28th. Argus raised their price objective on Paychex from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 4th. Citigroup Inc. 3% Minimum Coupon Principal Protected Based Upon Russell raised their price objective on Paychex from $93.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Paychex from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $87.67.

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $89.56 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.49. Paychex has a one year low of $47.87 and a one year high of $99.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

In other news, CFO Efrain Rivera sold 216,818 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.72, for a total transaction of $18,152,002.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 143,924 shares in the company, valued at $12,049,317.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 12,156 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.41, for a total transaction of $1,123,335.96. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 483,252 shares of company stock worth $42,117,342. Company insiders own 11.70% of the company’s stock.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Allied Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 252.3% in the third quarter. First Allied Advisory Services Inc. now owns 33,423 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,666,000 after buying an additional 23,935 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 7.2% in the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 7,744 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $618,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Arden Trust Co increased its stake in Paychex by 30.4% in the third quarter. Arden Trust Co now owns 3,931 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Paychex in the second quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in Paychex by 184.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 94,103 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,507,000 after buying an additional 61,063 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.85% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Company Profile

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

Recommended Story: Analyst Ratings Trading