StockNews.com Lowers Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS) to Buy

StockNews.com cut shares of Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Sapiens International from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Sapiens International from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Sapiens International from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd.

Sapiens International Stock Performance

SPNS opened at $36.63 on Thursday. Sapiens International has a twelve month low of $24.39 and a twelve month high of $41.22. The stock has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of 31.31 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s 50 day moving average is $36.33 and its 200-day moving average is $34.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $136.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $137.78 million. Sapiens International had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Sapiens International will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Sapiens International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is a boost from Sapiens International’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.28. Sapiens International’s payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

Institutional Trading of Sapiens International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sapiens International by 11.2% during the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 130,210 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,188,000 after purchasing an additional 13,166 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sapiens International in the first quarter worth approximately $3,807,000. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sapiens International during the first quarter valued at approximately $871,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sapiens International by 9.1% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 954,791 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,687,000 after acquiring an additional 79,302 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Sapiens International by 155.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 599,386 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $19,276,000 after acquiring an additional 364,695 shares in the last quarter. 30.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sapiens International Company Profile

Sapiens International Corporation N.V. provides software solutions for the insurance industry in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company provides various solutions for property and casualty commercial and personal lines, life and pensions, and reinsurance fields.