Conduent (NASDAQ:CNDT) Shares Up 2.9% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shares jumped 2.9% to about $1.44 (intraday high $1.515) on Monday with 2,040,745 shares traded—roughly 49% above average—indicating renewed investor interest.
• Recent results missed expectations: Conduent reported Q results of ($0.09) EPS and $770M revenue (both below estimates), with negative net margin (−5.59%) and ROE (−8.03%), and analysts project −0.34 EPS for the year.
• Insiders bought stock recently (337,099 shares in the past 90 days), while analyst views remain mixed—one Strong Buy, one Sell, and a MarketBeat consensus of “Moderate Buy.”

Conduent Inc. (NASDAQ:CNDT - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 2.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $1.5150 and last traded at $1.44. 2,040,745 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 49% from the average session volume of 1,372,070 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.40.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CNDT. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Conduent in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Conduent from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Conduent Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1.38 and a 200 day moving average of $1.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.29 and a beta of 1.24.

Conduent (NASDAQ:CNDT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $770.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $790.50 million. Conduent had a negative return on equity of 8.03% and a negative net margin of 5.59%.Conduent's quarterly revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.15) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Conduent Inc. will post -0.34 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Conduent

In related news, Director Hernandez Margarita Palau bought 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1.45 per share, for a total transaction of $72,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 50,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $72,500. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Harshavardhan V. Agadi bought 117,099 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $1.56 per share, with a total value of $182,674.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 337,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $525,874.44. This trade represents a 53.23% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 337,099 shares of company stock worth $499,974. 2.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Conduent

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in shares of Conduent during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Strs Ohio lifted its stake in Conduent by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 171,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 10,900 shares in the last quarter. HTG Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Conduent by 66.8% in the 4th quarter. HTG Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 22,474 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 9,000 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Conduent by 13,007.3% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 264,899 shares of the company's stock valued at $509,000 after acquiring an additional 262,878 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Conduent by 24.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 439,105 shares of the company's stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 87,072 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.28% of the company's stock.

About Conduent

Conduent Incorporated is a global provider of diversified business process services with a focus on delivering digital platforms and automation solutions. The company serves clients across a variety of industries including healthcare, transportation, public sector, financial services and human resources. By combining technology-enabled services with data analytics and artificial intelligence, Conduent helps organizations streamline operations, enhance customer experiences and improve overall efficiency.

Key offerings from Conduent encompass customer engagement and transaction processing, digital payment solutions, eligibility and enrollment services for health and welfare programs, and workforce management tools.

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