Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $39.45, but opened at $29.80. Sapiens International shares last traded at $29.79, with a volume of 217,851 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Sapiens International from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Sapiens International from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Sapiens International from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sapiens International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th.

Sapiens International Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $36.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41 and a beta of 1.25.

Sapiens International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 28th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is an increase from Sapiens International’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.28. This represents a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 28th. Sapiens International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SPNS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Sapiens International by 2.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,036,915 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,183,000 after purchasing an additional 25,623 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sapiens International by 9.1% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 954,791 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,687,000 after buying an additional 79,302 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sapiens International by 14.6% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 681,004 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $23,106,000 after buying an additional 87,001 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Sapiens International by 155.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 599,386 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $19,276,000 after buying an additional 364,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Sapiens International during the second quarter worth about $16,616,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 30.73% of the company’s stock.

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.