CGI Inc. (NYSE:GIB) Short Interest Up 22.3% in March

CGI Inc. (NYSE:GIB - Get Free Report) TSE: GIB.A was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,180,000 shares, an increase of 22.3% from the March 15th total of 2,600,000 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 297,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 10.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on CGI from $118.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $192.00 price target on shares of CGI in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of CGI from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $156.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CGI

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in CGI in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of CGI by 239.5% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 258 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CGI in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in shares of CGI in the 4th quarter worth about $83,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CGI during the 4th quarter worth about $99,000. Institutional investors own 66.68% of the company's stock.

CGI Stock Up 0.3 %

CGI stock traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $105.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 67,364 shares, compared to its average volume of 290,097. The company has a market cap of $24.01 billion, a PE ratio of 19.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.85. CGI has a 52-week low of $92.85 and a 52-week high of $122.79. The firm's 50 day moving average is $103.92 and its 200 day moving average is $109.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

CGI (NYSE:GIB - Get Free Report) TSE: GIB.A last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.41. CGI had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 19.32%. On average, analysts anticipate that CGI will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current year.

CGI Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.1039 per share. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. CGI's payout ratio is presently 7.41%.

CGI Company Profile

CGI Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides information technology (IT) and business process services. Its services include the business and strategic IT consulting, systems integration, and software solutions. The company also provides application development, modernization and maintenance, holistic enterprise digitization, automation, hybrid and cloud management, and business process services; intellectual property-based solutions; business consulting; managed IT services; and IT infrastructure services.