National Research (NASDAQ:NRC) Shares Gap Up to $34.36

National Research Co. (NASDAQ:NRC) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $34.36, but opened at $35.84. National Research shares last traded at $34.37, with a volume of 2,135 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, TheStreet lowered National Research from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th.

National Research Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $38.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $818.06 million, a PE ratio of 27.49 and a beta of 0.42.

National Research (NASDAQ:NRC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $38.00 million during the quarter. National Research had a return on equity of 47.79% and a net margin of 20.84%.

National Research Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. National Research’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.40%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National Research

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NRC. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in National Research by 4,323.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 974,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,340,000 after acquiring an additional 952,230 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of National Research during the 3rd quarter valued at about $11,124,000. Comerica Bank purchased a new position in shares of National Research during the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,939,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of National Research by 128.9% during the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 153,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,057,000 after buying an additional 86,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of National Research by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,077,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,896,000 after buying an additional 63,465 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.26% of the company’s stock.

National Research Company Profile

National Research Corporation provides analytics and insights that facilitate measurement and enhancement of the patient and employee experience. Its portfolio of subscription-based solutions provides actionable information and analysis to healthcare organizations across a range of mission-critical, constituent-related elements, including patient experience, service recovery, care transitions, employee engagement, reputation management, and brand loyalty.