Short Interest in Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) Increases By 15.7%

Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 659,400 shares, an increase of 15.7% from the August 31st total of 570,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 196,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on BLKB shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Blackbaud to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Blackbaud from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Blackbaud from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st.

Blackbaud Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BLKB traded up $0.29 on Monday, hitting $84.39. 63,919 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 238,294. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $80.55 and its 200 day moving average is $77.75. The company has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion, a PE ratio of 205.12 and a beta of 1.02. Blackbaud has a 1-year low of $64.32 and a 1-year high of $88.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $287.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.26 million. Blackbaud had a return on equity of 18.54% and a net margin of 3.64%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Blackbaud will post 2.46 EPS for the current year.

Blackbaud declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $800.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 18.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackbaud news, SVP Jon W. Olson sold 4,000 shares of Blackbaud stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total transaction of $304,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 29,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,251,728. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Blackbaud news, COO Kevin P. Gregoire sold 7,333 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.65, for a total transaction of $569,407.45. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 110,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,597,019.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jon W. Olson sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total value of $304,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 29,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,251,728. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,409 shares of company stock worth $4,483,193. 1.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blackbaud

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BLKB. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Blackbaud by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,646,203 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $418,609,000 after purchasing an additional 71,619 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Blackbaud by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,840,576 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $210,599,000 after purchasing an additional 53,057 shares during the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackbaud by 12.7% in the first quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,195,891 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $88,663,000 after buying an additional 135,103 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Blackbaud by 0.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,036,467 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $78,949,000 after purchasing an additional 8,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van Berkom & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Blackbaud by 1.6% in the second quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 657,419 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $50,076,000 after acquiring an additional 10,203 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.21% of the company’s stock.

Blackbaud Company Profile

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.