Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) Announces Semi-Annual Dividend of $0.28

Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) announced a Semi-Annual dividend on Monday, March 25th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of 0.28 per share by the technology company on Thursday, April 18th. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This is an increase from Sapiens International’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.26.

Sapiens International has increased its dividend by an average of 52.9% annually over the last three years. Sapiens International has a payout ratio of 16.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Sapiens International to earn $1.49 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.25 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.8%.

Sapiens International Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Sapiens International stock traded down $0.32 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $31.26. 29,359 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 105,743. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Sapiens International has a 1 year low of $19.91 and a 1 year high of $31.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.19 and its 200 day moving average is $27.86. The firm has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.95 and a beta of 1.17.

Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The technology company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.02. Sapiens International had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The firm had revenue of $130.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $130.85 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sapiens International will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Sapiens International from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Sapiens International from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sapiens International

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sapiens International by 312.5% in the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,222 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department acquired a new stake in shares of Sapiens International in the second quarter worth $99,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 402.5% in the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,508 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $124,000 after acquiring an additional 5,213 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA increased its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 21.6% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 7,046 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $170,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 546.2% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,652 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $160,000 after acquiring an additional 7,313 shares during the period. 30.73% of the stock is currently 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.