Short Interest in Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) Expands By 27.1%

Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 315,600 shares, a growth of 27.1% from the February 28th total of 248,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 179,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SPNS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays dropped their target price on Sapiens International from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Sapiens International in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Sapiens International in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Sapiens International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sapiens International

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SPNS. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Sapiens International by 80.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,646 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $658,000 after buying an additional 7,887 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Sapiens International by 74.4% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 16,463 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 7,022 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sapiens International in the 3rd quarter worth about $231,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Sapiens International by 0.3% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 603,429 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $22,490,000 after buying an additional 1,679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 594,552 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $22,159,000 after purchasing an additional 75,866 shares in the last quarter. 30.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sapiens International Price Performance

NASDAQ SPNS traded up $0.05 on Tuesday, hitting $27.14. The stock had a trading volume of 23,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 152,795. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $27.20 and a 200-day moving average of $29.98. The company has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.24. Sapiens International has a 52-week low of $25.01 and a 52-week high of $41.22.

Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $134.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.89 million. Sapiens International had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. Equities analysts expect 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 will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Sapiens International’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. Sapiens International’s dividend payout ratio is 46.51%.

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.