Cass Information Systems (NASDAQ:CASS) Sets New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Cass Information Systems shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $47.77 and last at $47.8840, rising about 3.4% on the session on roughly 5,341 shares traded.
• Analyst sentiment is positive — Weiss Ratings upgraded the stock to a "buy," Raymond James keeps an "outperform" with a $50 target, and the consensus is a Moderate Buy with a $48 target.
• The latest quarter delivered an EPS beat ($0.68 vs. $0.64) but a significant revenue miss ($28.03M vs. $49.6M expected); the company pays a $0.32 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.28) for about a 2.7% yield and a ~48.9% payout ratio.

Cass Information Systems, Inc (NASDAQ:CASS - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $47.77 and last traded at $47.8840, with a volume of 5341 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CASS. Weiss Ratings upgraded Cass Information Systems from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Cass Information Systems in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cass Information Systems currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Cass Information Systems Stock Up 3.4%

The stock has a market cap of $621.58 million, a PE ratio of 18.38 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $44.89 and a 200 day moving average of $42.59.

Cass Information Systems (NASDAQ:CASS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $28.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $49.60 million. Cass Information Systems had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 18.41%. Research analysts forecast that Cass Information Systems, Inc will post 2.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cass Information Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Cass Information Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cass Information Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Cass Information Systems by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,761 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $779,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd increased its stake in Cass Information Systems by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 9,916 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 2,950 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc acquired a new stake in Cass Information Systems during the fourth quarter worth $241,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Cass Information Systems by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 27,711 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in Cass Information Systems during the fourth quarter worth $231,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.08% of the company's stock.

Cass Information Systems Company Profile

Cass Information Systems, Inc provides payment and information processing services to manufacturing, distribution, and retail enterprises in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Information Services and Banking Services. Its services include freight invoice rating, payment processing, auditing, and the generation of accounting and transportation information. The company also processes and pays facility-related invoices, such as electricity, gas, waste, and telecommunications expenses; and provides telecom expense management solutions, as well as church management software solution and on-line platform to provide generosity services for faith-based and non-profit organizations.

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