IDT (NYSE:IDT) Lowered to Buy Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of IDT (NYSE:IDT) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

IDT Stock Performance

Shares of IDT stock opened at $48.20 on Tuesday. IDT has a 52-week low of $32.08 and a 52-week high of $58.77. The stock has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.51 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $49.32 and its 200-day moving average is $41.75.

IDT (NYSE:IDT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. IDT had a return on equity of 22.18% and a net margin of 6.10%. The firm had revenue of $308.83 million for the quarter.

IDT Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 24th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 23rd. This represents a yield of 0.42%. IDT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Marcelo Fischer sold 600 shares of IDT stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.57, for a total transaction of $29,142.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,824,920.61. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nadine Shea sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.74, for a total value of $53,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,608.50. This represents a 17.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,698 shares of company stock valued at $2,492,643 over the last ninety days. 25.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IDT

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in IDT by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 78,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,815,000 after acquiring an additional 5,454 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of IDT by 9.3% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC acquired a new position in IDT in the second quarter valued at about $898,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in IDT during the second quarter worth about $537,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in IDT by 3.4% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 26,833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $964,000 after buying an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. 59.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About IDT

IDT Corporation provides communications and payment services in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through Fintech, National Retail Solutions, net2phone, and Traditional Communications segments. The company operates point of sale, a terminal-based platform which provides independent retailers store management software, electronic payment processing, and other ancillary merchant services; and provides marketers with digital out-of-home advertising and transaction data.