PAYCHEX INC PAYX
PAYCHEX INC (PAYX) earns a Piotroski F-score of 7/9 (strong financial health), with an Altman Z″ in the grey zone. It pays a dividend yielding 4.44% (safety: at-risk). FY2026 revenue was $6.5B at a 27.0% net margin.
Quality score trend · recomputed for each fiscal year
Each year's score is computed from that year's filing — a rising Piotroski F or Altman Z″ means improving financial health, a fall is worth a look.
Analyst price target
Recent analyst actions
| Date | Firm | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-30 | Citigroup | Buy (main) |
| 2026-07-22 | UBS | Neutral (main) |
| 2026-06-30 | Morgan Stanley | Equal-Weight (main) |
| 2026-06-25 | UBS | Neutral (main) |
| 2026-06-25 | JP Morgan | Underweight (main) |
| 2026-06-17 | Stifel | Hold (main) |
Wall Street analyst consensus — a sentiment gauge, not our scoring.
Forward estimates · earnings calendar →
Consensus analyst estimates and scheduled dates — forward-looking, may change.
Smart money · insiders, last 12 months
Open-market insider purchases minus sells (SEC Form 4) — real buying with their own money is a bullish “smart money” signal; grants and option exercises are excluded.
How it ranks in Services · percentile among 982 companies
Percentile vs other Services companies we cover — e.g. “stronger than 90%” means only 10% score higher on that measure.
Piotroski F breakdown · 7/9 tests passed
- Positive return on assets
- Positive operating cash flow
- Rising ROA
- Cash flow exceeds net income
- Lower long-term debt
- Rising current ratio
- No share dilution
- Rising gross margin
- Rising asset turnover
Altman Z″ components · grey zone
| Component | Value |
|---|---|
| Working capital / assets | 0.11 |
| Retained earnings / assets | 0.112 |
| EBIT / assets | 0.155 |
| Equity / liabilities | 0.3 |
Sector peers · similar-size Services companies compare side by side →
| Ticker | Company | Piotroski F | Altman Z″ | P / E | Revenue growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAYX | PAYCHEX INC | 7/9 | 2.44 | 20.3 | +16.9% |
| FORR | FORRESTER RESEARCH, INC. | 5/9 | -1.42 | — | -8.2% |
| GLXG | Galaxy Payroll Group Ltd | 2/9 | 0.19 | — | — |
| GOOG | Alphabet Inc. | 5/9 | 6.79 | 31.1 | +15.1% |
| MSFT | MICROSOFT CORP | 6/9 | 4.49 | 20.7 | +17.8% |
| META | Meta Platforms, Inc. | 4/9 | 5.34 | 23.1 | +22.2% |
| BABA | Alibaba Group Holding Ltd | 3/9 | — | — | +8.1% |
About PAYCHEX INC
Paychex, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides human capital management solutions (HCM) for human resources, payroll processing, employee benefits, and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, Canada, India, and Israel. It offers technology and advisory solutions; and payroll tax administration services. The company also provides retirement solutions, such as plan implementation, ongoing compliance with government regulations, employee and employer reporting, participant and employer online access, electronic funds transfer, and other administrative services; HCM solutions from recruiting and hiring to retirement; and talent management and talent acquisition services. In addition, it offers payroll solutions, including calculation, preparation, and delivery of employee payroll checks; production of internal accounting records and management reports; preparation of federal, state, and local payroll tax returns; and collection and remittance of clients' payroll obligations. Further, the company provides workforce management solutions; benefits administration solutions; digital marketplace for earned wages, financial wellness solutions, and voluntary lifestyle benefits; administrative services organization HR outsourcing solutions; solutions to payroll and non-payroll customers; retirement and funding solutions; and insurance services for property and casualty coverage, such as workers' compensation, business-owner policies, cyber security protection, and commercial auto, as well as health and benefits coverage, including health, dental, vision, and life. Additionally, it offers payroll, HR, employee benefits administration, retirement, insurance, risk management outsourcing, and access to professionally trained HR representatives, virtually and on-site. It markets and sells its solutions primarily through its direct sales force. Paychex, Inc. was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Rochester, New York.
FAQ
Is PAYX financially healthy?
PAYCHEX INC's Piotroski F-score is 7/9 (8–9 is excellent, 0–3 weak), and its Altman Z″ distress score is in the grey zone.
Does PAYX pay a dividend, and is it safe?
Yes. PAYCHEX INC pays a dividend yielding about 4.44% with a 90.3% payout ratio, rated “at-risk” for safety.
How profitable is PAYX?
In FY2026, PAYCHEX INC had a net margin of 27.0% and a return on equity of 47.1%.
Is PAYX overvalued or undervalued?
PAYCHEX INC trades at about 24.6× trailing earnings — near its 10-year norm (10-year range 20.1×–35.4×, median 26.0×). Stocktoria reports the data, not buy/sell advice.
What is the analyst price target for PAYX?
The average Wall-Street price target for PAYCHEX INC is $109.57, about 9.0% below the recent price, from 14 analysts (consensus: hold).
Is PAYX a good stock to buy?
Stocktoria doesn't give buy or sell advice, but here is the data on PAYCHEX INC: a Piotroski F-score of 7/9, an Altman Z″ in the grey zone, a P/E of about 20.3×, a dividend yield of 4.44%. Weigh these quality and valuation signals against your own goals.
Computed from company filings · US · as of 2026-05-31. Facts plus Stocktoria's own computed scores — not investment advice.