Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.66 Per Share

Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) declared a dividend on Tuesday, March 25th, NASDAQ Dividends reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid 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 raised its dividend payment by an average of 15.5% per year over the last three years. Sapiens International has a payout ratio of 36.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research 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 Price Performance

SPNS stock traded up $0.31 during trading on Thursday, hitting $27.68. The stock had a trading volume of 136,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 149,867. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 2.18. Sapiens International has a twelve month low of $25.01 and a twelve month high of $41.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.46 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $27.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.17.

Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.01). Sapiens International had a net margin of 13.31% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The company had revenue of $134.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $135.89 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Sapiens International will post 1.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Sapiens International from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. 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. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Sapiens International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $36.00 to $28.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Sapiens International in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sapiens International 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.