Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) Raises Dividend to $0.66 Per Share

Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) announced a dividend on Tuesday, March 25th, NASDAQ Dividends reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of 0.66 per share by the technology company on Wednesday, April 16th. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This is a 200.0% increase from Sapiens International’s previous dividend of $0.22.

Sapiens International has increased its dividend payment by an average of 15.5% annually over the last three years. Sapiens International has a dividend payout ratio of 36.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Sapiens International to earn $1.59 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.58 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.5%.

Sapiens International Stock Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ SPNS traded up $0.31 during trading on Thursday, reaching $27.68. 136,802 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 149,867. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $27.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.17. The stock has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.46 and a beta of 1.16. Sapiens International has a 1 year low of $25.01 and a 1 year high of $41.22. 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 (NASDAQ:SPNS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $134.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.89 million. Sapiens International had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sapiens International will post 1.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.