IDT (NYSE:IDT) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Shares of IDT Co. (NYSE:IDT) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $46.19, but opened at $47.32. IDT shares last traded at $49.77, with a volume of 26,711 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised IDT from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 1st.

IDT Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.17 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.77.

IDT (NYSE:IDT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $303.35 million for the quarter. IDT had a net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 22.18%.

IDT Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 24th were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. IDT’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other IDT news, CTO David Wartell sold 17,116 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.11, for a total transaction of $806,334.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nadine Shea sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.74, for a total value of $53,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,775 shares in the company, valued at $256,608.50. This represents a 17.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 25.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IDT

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IDT. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of IDT during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in IDT in the 3rd quarter worth about $54,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in IDT by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of IDT during the 4th quarter worth approximately $129,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of IDT in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $134,000. 59.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About IDT

IDT Corporation provides communications and payment services in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through Fintech, National Retail Solutions, net2phone, and Traditional Communications segments. The company operates point of sale, a terminal-based platform which provides independent retailers store management software, electronic payment processing, and other ancillary merchant services; and provides marketers with digital out-of-home advertising and transaction data.