Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Shares of Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $88.95 and last traded at $88.28, with a volume of 103550 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $86.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on BLKB. Evercore ISI upgraded Blackbaud to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Blackbaud from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Blackbaud from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $92.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Blackbaud from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of Blackbaud from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackbaud presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.67.

Blackbaud Stock Down 2.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $83.70 and a 200 day moving average of $80.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.60 and a beta of 1.03.

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $286.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $293.74 million. Blackbaud had a return on equity of 20.34% and a net margin of 4.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackbaud, Inc. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackbaud announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 30th that allows the company to buyback $800.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 18.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Blackbaud

In other news, EVP Kevin Mcdearis sold 18,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.00, for a total transaction of $1,576,668.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 67,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,561,996. This trade represents a 22.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah E. Nash sold 3,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.98, for a total transaction of $260,338.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,723 shares in the company, valued at $1,992,257.54. This represents a 11.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 75,390 shares of company stock valued at $6,369,938. 1.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackbaud

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BLKB. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Blackbaud by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 388,009 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,768,000 after buying an additional 10,555 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Blackbaud by 1,107.5% in the first quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 33,908 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,514,000 after purchasing an additional 31,100 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackbaud during the second quarter worth $4,262,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackbaud during the first quarter worth $2,081,000. Finally, Kestrel Investment Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Blackbaud in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,795,000. 94.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.