Constellation Software (TSE:CSU) Hits New 1-Year Low - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Constellation Software hit a new 52-week low, trading as low as C$2,450.00 (last C$2,454.25) on Tuesday with about 191,399 shares changing hands.
• Analysts still rate the stock a Moderate Buy (five Buys, two Holds) with an average price target of C$4,481.14—roughly 80%+ above the current price—even after several banks trimmed their targets.
• Fundamentals are mixed: the company reported C$9.89 EPS and 27.3% ROE, but it carries a high valuation (P/E ~75.8), low liquidity (current ratio 0.93, quick ratio 0.55) and a very high debt-to-equity (169.8), indicating elevated financial risk.

Constellation Software Inc. (TSE:CSU - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as C$2,450.00 and last traded at C$2,454.25, with a volume of 191399 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$2,512.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CSU shares. CIBC lowered their price target on shares of Constellation Software from C$5,260.00 to C$4,668.00 in a research report on Friday, January 16th. TD Securities lowered their target price on Constellation Software from C$5,700.00 to C$5,300.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Constellation Software from C$5,600.00 to C$4,800.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. Desjardins upgraded Constellation Software to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Constellation Software from C$5,400.00 to C$4,600.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of C$4,481.14.

Constellation Software Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 169.83. The stock has a market cap of C$52.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.75, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of C$3,147.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$3,780.85.

Constellation Software (TSE:CSU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported C$9.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Constellation Software had a return on equity of 27.34% and a net margin of 6.57%.The company had revenue of C$4.10 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Constellation Software Inc. will post 55.4616354 EPS for the current year.

Constellation Software Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 19th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Constellation Software's dividend payout ratio is 12.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Constellation Software news, insider Barry Alan Symons sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$3,304.25, for a total transaction of C$8,260,625.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 57,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$188,342,250. The trade was a 4.20% decrease in their position. 5.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Constellation Software Company Profile

Constellation Software is an international provider of market-leading software and services to a number of industries. Our mission is to acquire, manage and build market-leading software businesses that develop specialized, mission-critical software solutions to address the specific needs of our particular industries. Our company was founded in 1995 to assemble a portfolio of vertical market software companies that have the potential to be leaders in their particular market. Since then, we have grown rapidly through a combination of acquisitions and organic growth, and established a strong constellation of companies with a large, diverse customer base.

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