Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Shares Up 5% – Should You Buy?

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH)’s share price traded up 5% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $43.67 and last traded at $43.4290. Approximately 1,371,072 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 8,121,304 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $62.00 to $47.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Evercore dropped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $100.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.35.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.81 billion, a PE ratio of 9.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.80.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.50% and a net margin of 10.41%.The company had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.630-5.770 EPS. Research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation will post 5.7 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.70%.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, May 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology service provider to reacquire up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognizant Technology Solutions

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.9% during the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 20,262,362 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,243,096,000 after acquiring an additional 2,633,683 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,534,198 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $840,669,000 after purchasing an additional 987,395 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $690,959,000. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at $673,651,000. Finally, FIL Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 46.6% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 6,680,508 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $554,482,000 after buying an additional 2,122,600 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company Profile

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ: CTSH) is a global professional services company that provides information technology, consulting and business process services to large enterprises. Its core offerings include digital engineering, application development and maintenance, cloud migration and managed services, data analytics and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and industry-specific solutions. Cognizant works with clients to design and implement technology-enabled transformations that address customer experience, operational efficiency and new product and service delivery.

Founded in the 1990s and headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, Cognizant has grown into a multinational organization with delivery centers and operations across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.