Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Cognizant Technology Solutions has a consensus analyst rating of "Hold", based on coverage from 24 analysts. The average 12-month target price is about $70.35.
• The stock was down 5.5% and opened at $39.15, near its 52-week low of $38.97. It is trading well below its 50-day moving average of $51.86 and 200-day moving average of $65.59.
• The company beat quarterly EPS estimates with $1.40 per share on revenue of $5.41 billion, and it also announced a $2 billion share buyback plus a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty-four analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $70.3478.

Several research firms have recently commented on CTSH. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Evercore dropped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $100.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Berenberg Bank set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Wedbush raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, June 8th.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 5.5%

CTSH stock opened at $39.15 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $51.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.59. The company has a market capitalization of $18.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 12 month low of $38.97 and a 12 month high of $87.03.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.41 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 17.50%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.630-5.770 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, May 18th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's dividend payout ratio is 28.70%.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 25.8% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,442,902 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $149,872,000 after buying an additional 500,886 shares in the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% during the first quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 9,338 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $573,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 12.0% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 19,107 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $1,172,000 after buying an additional 2,045 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 21.6% during the first quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 262,308 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $16,093,000 after buying an additional 46,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1,260.8% during the first quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 73,075 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $4,483,000 after buying an additional 67,705 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company Profile

Cognizant Technology Solutions NASDAQ: CTSH is a global professional services company that provides information technology, consulting and business process services to large enterprises. Its core offerings include digital engineering, application development and maintenance, cloud migration and managed services, data analytics and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and industry-specific solutions. Cognizant works with clients to design and implement technology-enabled transformations that address customer experience, operational efficiency and new product and service delivery.

Founded in the 1990s and headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, Cognizant has grown into a multinational organization with delivery centers and operations across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

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