Jefferies Financial Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Paycom Software (NYSE:PAYC) Stock Price

Paycom Software (NYSE:PAYC) had its price objective dropped by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $190.00 to $130.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the software maker’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 3.54% from the company’s current price.

PAYC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BTIG Research cut their price target on shares of Paycom Software from $195.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Paycom Software from $191.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Paycom Software from $175.00 to $137.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Paycom Software from $250.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Paycom Software from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Paycom Software has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $168.57.

Paycom Software Trading Up 4.8%

NYSE:PAYC opened at $125.56 on Thursday. Paycom Software has a 1 year low of $104.90 and a 1 year high of $267.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $150.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $184.09. The stock has a market cap of $7.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.79.

Paycom Software (NYSE:PAYC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The software maker reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.01. Paycom Software had a return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 22.10%.The business had revenue of $544.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $542.79 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.32 EPS. Paycom Software’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Paycom Software will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Paycom Software

In related news, CFO Robert D. Foster sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.66, for a total transaction of $211,458.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,398,747.02. This represents a 8.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 10.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ethic Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Paycom Software during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $566,000. Aviva PLC raised its position in Paycom Software by 65.2% during the second quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 34,129 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $7,897,000 after purchasing an additional 13,473 shares in the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in Paycom Software during the second quarter worth $877,000. Dillon & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Paycom Software by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 68,153 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $14,176,000 after purchasing an additional 6,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of Paycom Software by 10,106.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 486,957 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $101,355,000 after purchasing an additional 482,186 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.77% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Paycom Software

Here are the key news stories impacting Paycom Software this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results topped estimates: PAYC reported $2.45 EPS and revenue up ~10% y/y, beating consensus and showing margin expansion — supportive near‑term fundamentals. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Independent study highlights product ROI: A Forrester‑commissioned study found Paycom’s IWant AI delivers significant three‑year ROI for clients — a credibility boost for growth/product story. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts remain bullish: Guggenheim, KeyCorp and BTIG maintained buy/overweight views (despite trimming targets), signaling pockets of conviction that upside remains for longer‑term investors. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary and idea pieces: Several outlets (Zacks, Seeking Alpha, Barchart) frame PAYC as a potential value/recovery play after the selloff — useful for investors assessing risk/reward but not immediate catalysts. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Weak 2026 revenue guidance spooked investors: Paycom’s FY‑2026 revenue outlook was perceived as conservative/short of consensus, which triggered the initial selloff and remains the primary negative catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple analyst price‑target cuts and neutral/hold moves: Several firms (Citigroup, Jefferies, Cantor Fitzgerald, Mizuho, BMO and others) lowered targets and moved to neutral/hold — increasing selling pressure and signaling reduced near‑term expectations. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Shares reached a fresh near‑term low after guidance and analyst reactions, amplifying momentum selling and headline sensitivity. Article Title

Paycom Software Company Profile

Paycom Software, Inc (NYSE: PAYC) is a cloud-based human capital management (HCM) software provider that delivers an end-to-end solution for human resources, payroll, talent acquisition, time and labor management, and talent management. Its single-database platform enables organizations to process payroll, track time, administer benefits, and manage recruiting and employee development through a unified system. Paycom’s software is designed to streamline administrative tasks, improve data accuracy, and provide real-time reporting and analytics to support strategic HR decisions.

The company’s core offerings include payroll processing with built-in tax compliance, employee self-service functionality, automated time tracking, and customizable talent acquisition tools that allow employers to create and post job requisitions, screen candidates, and conduct onboarding electronically.