The Goldman Sachs Group Reaffirms “Neutral” Rating for Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE:BAH)

The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated their neutral rating on shares of Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE:BAH) in a research report released on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $109.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $150.00.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on BAH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Booz Allen Hamilton from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays upgraded shares of Booz Allen Hamilton from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Booz Allen Hamilton to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Booz Allen Hamilton from $200.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Booz Allen Hamilton from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $152.36.

Booz Allen Hamilton Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of BAH opened at $108.42 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $112.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. Booz Allen Hamilton has a 12-month low of $101.05 and a 12-month high of $190.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.58.

Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE:BAH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.07. Booz Allen Hamilton had a return on equity of 68.97% and a net margin of 7.39%. As a group, research analysts predict that Booz Allen Hamilton will post 6.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Booz Allen Hamilton Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Booz Allen Hamilton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Booz Allen Hamilton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Booz Allen Hamilton

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Booz Allen Hamilton by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 461,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $59,397,000 after purchasing an additional 3,435 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Booz Allen Hamilton in the 4th quarter valued at $933,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Booz Allen Hamilton by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 117,661 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,143,000 after buying an additional 18,930 shares during the period. Cumberland Partners Ltd raised its position in shares of Booz Allen Hamilton by 92.2% during the fourth quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 99,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,784,000 after acquiring an additional 47,655 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Booz Allen Hamilton by 51.7% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 951,605 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $122,472,000 after acquiring an additional 324,159 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.82% of the company’s stock.

About Booz Allen Hamilton

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation provides management and technology consulting, analytics, engineering, digital solutions, mission operations, and cyber services to governments, corporations, and not-for-profit organizations in the United States and internationally. It focuses on artificial intelligence services comprising of machine learning, predictive modeling, automation and decision analytics, and quantum computing.