Infosys (NYSE:INFY) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Infosys Limited (NYSE:INFY) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $21.92, but opened at $22.75. Infosys shares last traded at $22.63, with a volume of 976,203 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on INFY. Investec lowered Infosys from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Infosys from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Infosys from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Infosys from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Infosys from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.85.

Infosys Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $93.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.84.

Infosys (NYSE:INFY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The technology company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.19. Infosys had a net margin of 17.15% and a return on equity of 31.43%. The company had revenue of $4.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.18 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Infosys Limited will post 0.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Infosys Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 1st were given a $0.2126 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a yield of 1.1%. This is a positive change from Infosys’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.20. Infosys’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Infosys

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Infosys by 68.8% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 24,339,983 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $542,051,000 after purchasing an additional 9,923,744 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Infosys by 37.3% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 21,580,344 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $401,826,000 after acquiring an additional 5,862,144 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Infosys by 6,071.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,739,830 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $105,556,000 after acquiring an additional 4,663,023 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Infosys by 67.9% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 7,601,073 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $141,532,000 after acquiring an additional 3,074,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Infosys by 46.0% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 5,234,500 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $97,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,648,650 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.20% of the company’s stock.

About Infosys

Infosys Ltd. is a digital services and consulting company, which engages in the provision of end-to-end business solutions. It operates through the following segments: Financial Services, Retail, Communication, Energy, Utilities, Resources, and Services, Manufacturing, Hi-Tech, Life Sciences, and All Other.