Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 659,400 shares, an increase of 15.7% from the August 31st total of 570,000 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 196,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Blackbaud Price Performance

Shares of Blackbaud stock traded up $0.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $84.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 147,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 239,208. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 205.12 and a beta of 1.02. Blackbaud has a one year low of $64.32 and a one year high of $88.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $80.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.73.

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $287.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.26 million. Blackbaud had a return on equity of 18.54% and a net margin of 3.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackbaud will post 2.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackbaud announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $800.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 18.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Blackbaud

In other Blackbaud news, SVP Jon W. Olson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $170,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 24,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,042,125. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Blackbaud news, SVP Jon W. Olson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $170,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 24,025 shares in the company, valued at $2,042,125. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kevin Mcdearis sold 18,996 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.00, for a total transaction of $1,576,668.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,561,996. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,409 shares of company stock valued at $4,483,193 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackbaud

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLKB. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Blackbaud by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,977 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $912,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Blackbaud by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,840 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,113,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Blackbaud by 6.2% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,140 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV raised its stake in Blackbaud by 2.1% in the second quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 11,164 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $850,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Redmond Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Blackbaud by 0.9% in the first quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC now owns 43,172 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,201,000 after buying an additional 399 shares during the period. 94.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on BLKB shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Blackbaud from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Blackbaud to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Blackbaud from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st.

About Blackbaud

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.