Jack Henry & Associates (NASDAQ:JKHY) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ:JKHY) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $190.53 and last traded at $188.76, with a volume of 204669 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $183.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on JKHY. StockNews.com downgraded Jack Henry & Associates from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Jack Henry & Associates in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Jack Henry & Associates in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.80.

Jack Henry & Associates Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $173.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $175.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.53, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Jack Henry & Associates (NASDAQ:JKHY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.03). Jack Henry & Associates had a net margin of 17.83% and a return on equity of 21.55%. As a group, analysts expect that Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jack Henry & Associates Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This is a boost from Jack Henry & Associates’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Jack Henry & Associates’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.88%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jack Henry & Associates

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Jack Henry & Associates by 647.4% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 142 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Jack Henry & Associates in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. National Pension Service bought a new position in Jack Henry & Associates in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in Jack Henry & Associates in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Jack Henry & Associates in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. 98.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Jack Henry & Associates

Jack Henry & Associates, Inc is a financial technology company, which engages in the provision of technology solutions and payment processing services. It operates through the following segments: Core, Payments, Complementary, and Corporate and Other. The Core segment provides core information processing platforms to banks and credit unions which consist of integrated applications required to process deposit, loan, and general ledger transactions, and maintain centralized customer and member information.