Research Analysts Set Expectations for Paychex Q1 Earnings

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) – Zacks Research decreased their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Paychex in a report released on Wednesday, April 9th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $1.22 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.23. The consensus estimate for Paychex’s current full-year earnings is $4.99 per share.

PAYX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Paychex from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays increased their target price on Paychex from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Cfra Research upgraded Paychex to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Paychex from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Paychex from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.00.

Paychex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PAYX opened at $146.75 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.30. Paychex has a twelve month low of $115.40 and a twelve month high of $158.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.89, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The business services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. Paychex had a net margin of 32.02% and a return on equity of 45.28%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Trading of Paychex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Joule Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the first quarter worth $216,000. Sara Bay Financial increased its position in shares of Paychex by 1.5% in the first quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 6,505 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $982,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Paychex by 85.0% during the first quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 10,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,575,000 after acquiring an additional 4,691 shares during the last quarter. Permanent Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Paychex during the first quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, MRA Advisory Group lifted its holdings in Paychex by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. MRA Advisory Group now owns 2,041 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.47% of the company’s stock.

Paychex Company Profile

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.