CGI Inc. (NYSE:GIB) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of CGI Inc. (NYSE:GIB) (TSE:GIB.A) have earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $153.25.

A number of research firms have commented on GIB. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of CGI from $118.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $178.00 price target on shares of CGI in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on CGI from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st.

CGI Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE:GIB opened at $103.09 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $23.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.96. CGI has a one year low of $96.92 and a one year high of $122.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.31. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.35.

CGI (NYSE:GIB) (TSE:GIB.A) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.41. CGI had a return on equity of 19.32% and a net margin of 11.72%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CGI will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CGI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.1039 per share. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. CGI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CGI

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of CGI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $286,970,000. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new stake in CGI in the fourth quarter worth $94,390,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in CGI by 23.6% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,513,733 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $519,072,000 after buying an additional 861,771 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its stake in CGI by 1,190.6% in the fourth quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 845,916 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $92,438,000 after buying an additional 780,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of CGI by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,992,111 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $327,007,000 after acquiring an additional 678,431 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.68% of the company’s stock.

CGI Company Profile

CGI Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides information technology (IT) and business process services. Its services include the business and strategic IT consulting, systems integration, and software solutions. The company also provides application development, modernization and maintenance, holistic enterprise digitization, automation, hybrid and cloud management, and business process services; intellectual property-based solutions; business consulting; managed IT services; and IT infrastructure services.