CSP Inc. (NASDAQ:CSPI) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

CSP Inc. (NASDAQ:CSPI) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 402,900 shares, a growth of 194.3% from the February 29th total of 136,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 164,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days.

CSP Stock Performance

Shares of CSP stock opened at $18.77 on Thursday. CSP has a 52-week low of $4.91 and a 52-week high of $29.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $17.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.70.

CSP (NASDAQ:CSPI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The information technology services provider reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. CSP had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 6.33%. The firm had revenue of $15.38 million during the quarter.

CSP Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $0.025 dividend. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. CSP’s dividend payout ratio is 22.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CSP

In other CSP news, insider Joseph R. Nerges purchased 1,940 shares of CSP stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.97 per share, for a total transaction of $34,852.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,335,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,989,850.19. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have acquired 3,140 shares of company stock worth $57,400 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 15.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CSP

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Visionary Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in CSP by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors now owns 293,403 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $5,868,000 after acquiring an additional 9,363 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in CSP by 1.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 268,958 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $3,650,000 after acquiring an additional 3,374 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in CSP by 2.5% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 162,963 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,215,000 after acquiring an additional 3,900 shares during the period. EAM Investors LLC purchased a new stake in CSP in the third quarter worth $1,383,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in CSP by 12.7% during the first quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 44,389 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $602,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on CSPI shares. TheStreet cut shares of CSP from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of CSP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th.

CSP Company Profile

CSP Inc develops and markets IT integration solutions, security products, managed IT services, cloud services, purpose-built network adapters, and cluster computer systems for commercial and defense customers worldwide. It operates in two segments, Technology Solutions and High Performance Products. The Technology Solutions segment provides third-party computer hardware and software as a value-added reseller to various customers in web and infrastructure hosting, education, telecommunications, healthcare services, distribution, financial and professional services, and manufacturing industries.