Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the five brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $34.25.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SPNS shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Sapiens International in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Sapiens International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Sapiens International from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sapiens International

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SPNS. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Sapiens International by 2,216.7% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 973 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 931 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Sapiens International by 171.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,356 shares of the technology company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Sapiens International in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 2,507.5% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,876 shares of the technology company's stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 4,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sapiens International by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 6,635 shares of the technology company's stock worth $178,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 30.73% of the company's stock.

Sapiens International Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of SPNS traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $28.18. The company had a trading volume of 21,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 154,951. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.85 and a beta of 0.95. Sapiens International has a 52-week low of $23.69 and a 52-week high of $41.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $27.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.63.

Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The technology company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $136.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $136.25 million. Sapiens International had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 13.31%. Sapiens International's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sapiens International will post 1.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sapiens International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 7th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Sapiens International's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. Sapiens International's payout ratio is presently 46.15%.

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.