Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $34.25.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SPNS shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut Sapiens International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Sapiens International in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Sapiens International from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th.

Sapiens International Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Sapiens International stock opened at $28.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.58 billion, a PE ratio of 21.86 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.58. Sapiens International has a 52-week low of $23.69 and a 52-week high of $41.22.

Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The technology company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $136.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $136.25 million. Sapiens International had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 13.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Sapiens International will post 1.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sapiens International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 7th. This is a positive change from Sapiens International’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. This represents a yield of 2.2%. Sapiens International’s payout ratio is currently 46.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sapiens International

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPNS. Topline Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sapiens International during the 4th quarter valued at $24,147,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 227.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 550,343 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $14,909,000 after purchasing an additional 382,138 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 65.7% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 932,703 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,062,000 after purchasing an additional 369,947 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sapiens International in the 1st quarter worth $7,044,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 217.1% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 371,368 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,060,000 after purchasing an additional 254,259 shares in the last quarter. 30.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Sapiens International

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.