Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) saw a significant increase in short interest in 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 daily trading volume, of 129,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on SPNS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Sapiens International from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Barclays raised their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.33.

Institutional Trading of Sapiens International

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPNS. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Sapiens International in the third quarter valued at approximately $133,000. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 1,041 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio raised its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 23,200 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Sapiens International in the 3rd quarter valued at $755,000. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,217 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $717,000 after buying an additional 3,767 shares in the last quarter. 30.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sapiens International Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of SPNS stock traded down $0.70 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $30.80. 104,059 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 123,532. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a current ratio of 2.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.50 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.36. Sapiens International has a twelve month low of $19.96 and a twelve month high of $35.33.

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

Sapiens International Increases Dividend

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

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.