Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) Rating Lowered to Hold at Baird R W

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) was downgraded by analysts at Baird R W from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday, Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Blackbaud from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Evercore ISI raised Blackbaud to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird lowered Blackbaud from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $92.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price target on Blackbaud from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Blackbaud has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.67.

Blackbaud Stock Up 2.9 %

Blackbaud stock opened at $77.72 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a PE ratio of 76.20 and a beta of 1.02. Blackbaud has a 12 month low of $66.47 and a 12 month high of $88.56. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $1.08 EPS 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 20.34% and a net margin of 4.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Blackbaud will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sarah E. Nash sold 3,220 shares of Blackbaud stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.18, for a total transaction of $245,299.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,043,376.14. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Blackbaud news, SVP Jon W. Olson sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total transaction of $304,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 29,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,251,728. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sarah E. Nash sold 3,220 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.18, for a total value of $245,299.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,043,376.14. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,409 shares of company stock valued at $4,483,193 in the last three months. 1.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackbaud

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Blackbaud by 2,950.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 427 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the period. DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackbaud in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Blackbaud by 190.4% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,597 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its position in Blackbaud by 447.8% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 2,542 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 2,078 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Blackbaud during the second quarter valued at about $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.21% of the company’s stock.

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.