Dayforce (NYSE:DAY) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Dayforce Inc (NYSE:DAY) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $71.74, but opened at $67.03. Dayforce shares last traded at $65.61, with a volume of 376,341 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.09). Dayforce had a net margin of 3.12% and a return on equity of 6.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DAY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Dayforce from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Dayforce in a research report on Monday, November 18th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Dayforce from $84.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Dayforce from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Dayforce from $90.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Dayforce news, COO Stephen H. Holdridge sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.33, for a total value of $71,330.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 119,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,489,839.26. This trade represents a 0.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO David D. Ossip sold 858,697 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.55, for a total transaction of $68,309,346.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 794,527 shares in the company, valued at $63,204,622.85. The trade was a 51.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 860,697 shares of company stock worth $68,456,936 in the last ninety days. 4.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dayforce

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Dayforce during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Dayforce during the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt bought a new position in Dayforce in the 3rd quarter worth $74,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Dayforce by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Dayforce during the 3rd quarter valued at about $91,000.

Dayforce Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $10.41 billion, a PE ratio of 200.08, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $73.91 and its 200-day moving average is $66.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

About Dayforce

Dayforce Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a human capital management (HCM) software company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers Dayforce, a cloud HCM platform that provides human resources, payroll and tax, workforce management, wallet, benefits, and talent intelligence functionalities; and Powerpay, a cloud HR and payroll solution for the small business market.