Analysts Expect Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH) to Announce $1.12 Earnings Per Share

Analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions Co. (NASDAQ:CTSH – Get Rating) will post earnings of $1.12 per share for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks. Zero analysts have made estimates for Cognizant Technology Solutions’ earnings, with the highest EPS estimate coming in at $1.15 and the lowest estimate coming in at $1.08. Cognizant Technology Solutions posted earnings per share of $0.99 during the same quarter last year, which indicates a positive year-over-year growth rate of 13.1%. The firm is expected to announce its next quarterly earnings report on Monday, January 1st.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions will report full-year earnings of $4.55 per share for the current year, with EPS estimates ranging from $4.50 to $4.62. For the next fiscal year, analysts anticipate that the business will report earnings of $5.07 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $4.93 to $5.27. Zacks’ EPS averages are a mean average based on a survey of analysts that that provide coverage for Cognizant Technology Solutions.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 4th. The information technology service provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.83 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 11.59%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.97 EPS.

Several analysts have weighed in on CTSH shares. Cowen boosted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Sunday, January 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $104.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $58.50 to $89.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 20th. Barclays boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $92.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $91.67.

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, Director Leo S. Jr. Mackay sold 4,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.52, for a total transaction of $422,948.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Rajesh Nambiar sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.50, for a total value of $452,500.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,434,568. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 3,007 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. TownSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. TownSquare Capital LLC now owns 42,390 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $3,146,000 after acquiring an additional 3,688 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 70,441 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $5,228,000 after acquiring an additional 11,890 shares during the period. Triodos Investment Management BV raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Triodos Investment Management BV now owns 331,340 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $24,589,000 after acquiring an additional 16,000 shares during the period. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,647 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,359 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.73% of the company’s stock.

NASDAQ:CTSH traded up $1.92 on Friday, hitting $75.52. 3,904,734 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,811,863. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.10. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 52 week low of $66.19 and a 52 week high of $93.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.08. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $86.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.98.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 20th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 19th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.90%.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions (Get Rating)

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

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