Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) Short Interest Up 28.3% in April

Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 219,700 shares, an increase of 28.3% from the March 31st total of 171,200 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 129,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Institutional Trading of Sapiens International

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Torray Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sapiens International by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC now owns 43,754 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,266,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Sapiens International by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,787 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sapiens International by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 27,580 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $784,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sapiens International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC grew its position in Sapiens International by 37.2% during the third quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 1,041 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 30.73% of the company’s stock.

Sapiens International Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SPNS traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $31.50. 99,075 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 123,770. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.29. Sapiens International has a one year low of $19.96 and a one year high of $35.33. The company has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.13 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

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

Sapiens International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 4th. This is a boost from Sapiens International’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.26. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. Sapiens International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on SPNS. Barclays raised their price objective on Sapiens International from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective 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 given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.33.

Sapiens International Company Profile

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.