$0.53 EPS Expected for NEWTEK Business Services Corp (NEWT) This Quarter

Equities analysts expect NEWTEK Business Services Corp (NASDAQ:NEWT) to post earnings of $0.53 per share for the current quarter, Zacks Investment Research reports. Two analysts have made estimates for NEWTEK Business Services’ earnings. NEWTEK Business Services posted earnings of $0.51 per share in the same quarter last year, which indicates a positive year-over-year growth rate of 3.9%. The firm is scheduled to announce its next earnings report after the market closes on Monday, March 4th.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that NEWTEK Business Services will report full-year earnings of $1.91 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $1.90 to $1.91. For the next year, analysts anticipate that the business will report earnings of $2.05 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $2.03 to $2.07. Zacks’ EPS calculations are a mean average based on a survey of research firms that that provide coverage for NEWTEK Business Services.

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A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NEWT. Zacks Investment Research upgraded NEWTEK Business Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 16th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised NEWTEK Business Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 28th. Raymond James raised NEWTEK Business Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $15.68 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, December 24th. BidaskClub lowered NEWTEK Business Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 18th. Finally, ValuEngine lowered NEWTEK Business Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. NEWTEK Business Services currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.74.

In related news, CEO Barry Sloane purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $16.46 per share, for a total transaction of $49,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,012,911 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,672,515.06. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 6,812 shares of company stock valued at $119,794. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NEWT. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of NEWTEK Business Services by 4.5% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 460,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,646,000 after acquiring an additional 19,665 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of NEWTEK Business Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $470,000. Eagle Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NEWTEK Business Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $341,000. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of NEWTEK Business Services by 50.0% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 46,953 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $983,000 after acquiring an additional 15,653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wiley BROS. Aintree Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of NEWTEK Business Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,388,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.59% of the company’s stock.

NEWT opened at $19.79 on Friday. NEWTEK Business Services has a 12-month low of $15.59 and a 12-month high of $24.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $370.40 million, a PE ratio of 14.96, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.39.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.08%. NEWTEK Business Services’s payout ratio is 112.99%.

NEWTEK Business Services Company Profile

Newtek Business Services Corp. is a business development company specializing in providing financial and business services to the small-and medium-sized business market in the United States. The firm also seeks to invest in early stage businesses. The firm seeks to makes both debt and equity investments.

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