Short Interest in CGI Inc. (NYSE:GIB) Rises By 23.8%

CGI Inc. (NYSE:GIB) (TSE:GIB.A) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,600,000 shares, an increase of 23.8% from the February 28th total of 2,100,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 256,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 10.2 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

CGI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GIB traded up $1.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $102.04. The company had a trading volume of 480,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 185,618. CGI has a 12 month low of $96.75 and a 12 month high of $122.79. The stock has a market cap of $23.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.45, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.29.

CGI (NYSE:GIB) (TSE:GIB.A) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.41. CGI had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 19.32%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CGI will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current year.

CGI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.1039 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. CGI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CGI

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GIB. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in CGI during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in CGI during the fourth quarter valued at $62,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new stake in CGI in the 4th quarter worth about $83,000. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in CGI during the 4th quarter worth about $99,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in CGI by 47.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,163 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. 66.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on GIB shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of CGI from $118.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of CGI from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $192.00 price objective on shares of CGI in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CGI presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.75.

About CGI

CGI Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides information technology (IT) and business process services. Its services include the business and strategic IT consulting, systems integration, and software solutions. The company also provides application development, modernization and maintenance, holistic enterprise digitization, automation, hybrid and cloud management, and business process services; intellectual property-based solutions; business consulting; managed IT services; and IT infrastructure services.