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

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

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

Sapiens International stock opened at $35.11 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.55. Sapiens International has a 12 month low of $24.39 and a 12 month high of $41.22. The company has a market cap of $1.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.01 and a beta of 1.25.

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

Sapiens International Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Sapiens International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Sapiens International by 2.5% in 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 boosted its stake in Sapiens International by 9.1% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 954,791 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,687,000 after buying an additional 79,302 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Sapiens International by 14.6% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Sapiens International by 155.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 599,386 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $19,276,000 after acquiring an additional 364,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Sapiens International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $16,616,000. 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.