StockNews.com Upgrades The Hackett Group (NASDAQ:HCKT) to Strong-Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of The Hackett Group (NASDAQ:HCKT) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday.

Separately, Barrington Research lifted their target price on The Hackett Group from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.67.

The Hackett Group Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of The Hackett Group stock opened at $27.15 on Wednesday. The Hackett Group has a 1 year low of $20.23 and a 1 year high of $34.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The company has a market capitalization of $754.53 million, a P/E ratio of 25.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $30.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.26.

The Hackett Group (NASDAQ:HCKT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $77.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.64 million. The Hackett Group had a net margin of 9.44% and a return on equity of 36.40%. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Hackett Group will post 1.43 EPS for the current year.

The Hackett Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This is an increase from The Hackett Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 21st. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The Hackett Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Hackett Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of HCKT. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in The Hackett Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 266,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,996,000 after acquiring an additional 1,350 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of The Hackett Group by 383.4% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,741 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 2,174 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of The Hackett Group by 20.6% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 41,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,087,000 after acquiring an additional 7,078 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP bought a new position in The Hackett Group during the third quarter worth about $294,000. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in The Hackett Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,256,000. 78.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About The Hackett Group

The Hackett Group, Inc operates as an intellectual property-based executive advisory, strategic consulting, and digital transformation company in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Strategy & Business Transformation, Oracle Solutions, and SAP Solutions.