Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS) Downgraded by StockNews.com

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

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

Sapiens International Price Performance

NASDAQ SPNS opened at $36.63 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.31 and a beta of 1.25. Sapiens International has a 12 month low of $24.39 and a 12 month high of $41.22. The company’s 50 day moving average is $36.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.19. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. Sapiens International had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.92%. The business had revenue of $136.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $137.78 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sapiens International will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Sapiens International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from Sapiens International’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.28. Sapiens International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sapiens International

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new position in Sapiens International in the 2nd quarter worth about $16,616,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Sapiens International by 155.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 599,386 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $19,276,000 after purchasing an additional 364,695 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of Sapiens International during the 2nd quarter worth $6,915,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sapiens International in the first quarter valued at about $3,807,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Sapiens International during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,339,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 30.73% of the company’s stock.

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.