$0.94 EPS Expected for Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) This Quarter

Equities analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) will announce $0.94 earnings per share for the current quarter, Zacks Investment Research reports. Seven analysts have issued estimates for Cognizant Technology Solutions’ earnings, with the highest EPS estimate coming in at $0.95 and the lowest estimate coming in at $0.93. Cognizant Technology Solutions reported earnings of $0.96 per share in the same quarter last year, which indicates a negative year over year growth rate of 2.1%. The firm is expected to report its next earnings results on Thursday, May 6th.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions will report full-year earnings of $3.99 per share for the current year, with EPS estimates ranging from $3.89 to $4.10. For the next year, analysts anticipate that the business will report earnings of $4.41 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $4.27 to $4.58. Zacks’ earnings per share calculations are an average based on a survey of research analysts that that provide coverage for Cognizant Technology Solutions.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 2nd. The information technology service provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $4.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.25 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 19.04%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.07 EPS.

CTSH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 2nd. William Blair raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 20th. Zacks Investment Research raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 29th. Finally, Cowen upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.39.

In related news, Director John Nelson Fox, Jr. sold 6,926 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.07, for a total transaction of $540,712.82. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 43,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,400,260.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Malcolm Frank sold 1,461 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.33, for a total transaction of $114,440.13. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,975 shares in the company, valued at $2,974,581.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,561 shares of company stock valued at $828,293 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CTSH. Hoover Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Freedman Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 212.1% during the third quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 515 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.66% of the company’s stock.

Shares of CTSH traded down $0.56 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $72.69. 86,123 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,934,554. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.43. The company has a market capitalization of $39.42 billion, a PE ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.12. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a one year low of $40.01 and a one year high of $82.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 2.61.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a positive change from Cognizant Technology Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 17th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.06%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company Profile

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation, a professional services company, provides consulting and technology, and outsourcing services in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Financial Services; Healthcare; Products and Resources; and Communications, Media and Technology.

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