Short Interest in Cass Information Systems, Inc (NASDAQ:CASS) Grows By 18.8%

Key Points

• Short interest in Cass rose 18.8% to 297,359 shares as of March 31, equal to about 2.4% of the stock and a short-interest ratio of 3.9 days (avg. daily volume ~75,763 shares).
• Analysts are generally positive: Weiss Ratings upgraded Cass to a Buy, Raymond James reaffirmed an Outperform with a $50 target, and the consensus rating is a Moderate Buy with a $48 price target.
• Cass beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.68 vs. $0.64), has a market cap near $607M, and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.32 (annualized yield ~2.7% and a payout ratio ~48.9%).

Cass Information Systems, Inc (NASDAQ:CASS - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 297,359 shares, an increase of 18.8% from the March 15th total of 250,322 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 75,763 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CASS shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Cass Information Systems from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Cass Information Systems in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cass Information Systems

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Cass Information Systems by 8.6% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 301,998 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $11,878,000 after buying an additional 23,860 shares during the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Cass Information Systems by 92.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 551,096 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $21,675,000 after buying an additional 264,943 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Cass Information Systems by 174.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 18,687 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $735,000 after acquiring an additional 11,890 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new stake in Cass Information Systems in the 3rd quarter worth about $556,000. Finally, Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. increased its holdings in Cass Information Systems by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. now owns 351,073 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $13,808,000 after acquiring an additional 21,037 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 59.08% of the company's stock.

Cass Information Systems Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of CASS traded up $0.12 on Friday, reaching $47.05. 2,369 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 76,251. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $44.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.59. The stock has a market cap of $607.26 million, a PE ratio of 17.96 and a beta of 0.42. Cass Information Systems has a 52-week low of $36.07 and a 52-week high of $47.42.

Cass Information Systems (NASDAQ:CASS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $28.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.60 million. Cass Information Systems had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 18.41%. Analysts forecast that Cass Information Systems will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Cass Information Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Cass Information Systems's payout ratio is currently 48.85%.

Cass Information Systems Company Profile

Cass Information Systems, Inc provides payment and information processing services to manufacturing, distribution, and retail enterprises in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Information Services and Banking Services. Its services include freight invoice rating, payment processing, auditing, and the generation of accounting and transportation information. The company also processes and pays facility-related invoices, such as electricity, gas, waste, and telecommunications expenses; and provides telecom expense management solutions, as well as church management software solution and on-line platform to provide generosity services for faith-based and non-profit organizations.

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