Zacks: Brokerages Anticipate Paychex (PAYX) Will Post Earnings of $0.62 Per Share

Wall Street analysts predict that Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) will report earnings of $0.62 per share for the current quarter, according to Zacks. Thirteen analysts have made estimates for Paychex’s earnings. The highest EPS estimate is $0.70 and the lowest is $0.60. Paychex posted earnings per share of $0.54 in the same quarter last year, which indicates a positive year-over-year growth rate of 14.8%. The company is scheduled to issue its next quarterly earnings report on Wednesday, June 27th.

On average, analysts expect that Paychex will report full-year earnings of $2.49 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $2.44 to $2.55. For the next fiscal year, analysts expect that the company will report earnings of $2.78 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $2.72 to $2.98. Zacks’ earnings per share averages are a mean average based on a survey of analysts that that provide coverage for Paychex.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.01. Paychex had a return on equity of 43.42% and a net margin of 27.22%. The firm had revenue of $866.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $853.99 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Several research firms recently commented on PAYX. Bank of America downgraded Paychex from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Monday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Paychex from $67.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Paychex from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 27th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.94.

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $62.24 on Tuesday. Paychex has a one year low of $54.20 and a one year high of $73.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $22,091.84, a P/E ratio of 28.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.98.

In other Paychex news, insider Michael E. Gioja sold 110,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.63, for a total value of $6,779,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 170,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,537,127.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.70% of the company’s stock.

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Green Square Capital LLC boosted its position in Paychex by 139.2% in the fourth quarter. Green Square Capital LLC now owns 13,024 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $887,000 after purchasing an additional 7,580 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Paychex by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 33,032 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 4,791 shares during the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. Xact Kapitalforvaltning AB boosted its position in Paychex by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Xact Kapitalforvaltning AB now owns 52,911 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,602,000 after purchasing an additional 4,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WealthPLAN Partners LLC purchased a new position in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth about $215,000. 68.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc provides payroll, human resource (HR), retirement, and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States and Germany. The company offers payroll processing services that include payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.

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