Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 717,600 shares, a growth of 25.9% from the February 13th total of 570,100 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 225,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackbaud

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BLKB. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in Blackbaud by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 5,638 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP lifted its stake in shares of Blackbaud by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 2,985 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in Blackbaud by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,864 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in Blackbaud by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 7,612 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Blackbaud by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,930 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Blackbaud from $80.00 to $76.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.33.

Blackbaud Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BLKB opened at $63.89 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.40, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.69 and a 200 day moving average of $78.55. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of -10.83 and a beta of 1.08. Blackbaud has a one year low of $62.99 and a one year high of $88.95.

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.50). The company had revenue of $302.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $303.41 million. Blackbaud had a positive return on equity of 26.30% and a negative net margin of 24.83%. As a group, research analysts predict that Blackbaud will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.