Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Hold" from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $34.25.

SPNS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Sapiens International in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Sapiens International from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Sapiens International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $28.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

Sapiens International Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ SPNS traded up $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $28.54. 120,960 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 155,401. The firm has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.12 and a beta of 0.95. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $27.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.77. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Sapiens International has a fifty-two week low of $23.69 and a fifty-two week high of $41.22.

Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The technology company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $136.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $136.25 million. Sapiens International had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Sapiens International will post 1.42 EPS for the current year.

Sapiens International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th were given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 7th. This is a positive change from Sapiens International's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. This represents a dividend yield of 2.2%. Sapiens International's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.15%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sapiens International

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SPNS. Topline Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sapiens International in the fourth quarter valued at about $24,147,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 227.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 550,343 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $14,909,000 after acquiring an additional 382,138 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 932,703 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $25,062,000 after acquiring an additional 369,947 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Sapiens International during the first quarter worth about $7,044,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Sapiens International by 217.1% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 371,368 shares of the technology company's stock worth $10,060,000 after buying an additional 254,259 shares in the last quarter. 30.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Sapiens International

Sapiens International Corporation N.V. provides software solutions for the insurance industry in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company provides various solutions for property and casualty commercial and personal lines, life and pensions, and reinsurance fields.