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

StockNews.com lowered shares of Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on SPNS. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Sapiens International from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Sapiens International from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Sapiens International from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd.

Sapiens International Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SPNS opened at $35.11 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.01 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $36.49 and its 200 day moving average is $33.55. 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 has a 1-year low of $24.39 and a 1-year high of $41.22.

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

Sapiens International Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sapiens International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Sapiens International by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,036,915 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,183,000 after purchasing an additional 25,623 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Sapiens International by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 954,791 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,687,000 after buying an additional 79,302 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Sapiens International by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 681,004 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $23,106,000 after buying an additional 87,001 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 155.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 599,386 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $19,276,000 after buying an additional 364,695 shares during the period. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Sapiens International during the second quarter valued at approximately $16,616,000. 30.73% of the stock is 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.