Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $33.50.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Sapiens International in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays dropped their price target on Sapiens International from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Sapiens International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Sapiens International in a research report on Friday, December 6th.

Sapiens International Trading Down 1.5 %

Sapiens International stock opened at $27.27 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Sapiens International has a 12-month low of $25.01 and a 12-month high of $41.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.14 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $27.17 and a 200 day moving average of $30.08.

Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $134.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.89 million. Sapiens International had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. As a group, research analysts predict that Sapiens International will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Sapiens International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is an increase from Sapiens International’s previous dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Sapiens International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.51%.

Institutional Trading of Sapiens International

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Sapiens International by 7.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,540 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $700,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Sapiens International by 415.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 54,640 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,036,000 after buying an additional 44,033 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Sapiens International by 22.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 177,878 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,630,000 after buying an additional 32,780 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC increased its position in Sapiens International by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 6,635 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $178,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sapiens International in the third quarter valued at $231,000. 30.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.