Cooke & Bieler LP Invests $20.03 Million in IDT Corporation $IDT

Cooke & Bieler LP acquired a new stake in shares of IDT Corporation (NYSE:IDT) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 391,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $20,030,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in IDT by 392.6% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 163,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,406,000 after purchasing an additional 130,569 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in IDT by 1,436.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 94,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,468,000 after buying an additional 88,512 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of IDT by 310.8% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 53,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,643,000 after buying an additional 40,357 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of IDT by 40.2% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 58,197 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,986,000 after buying an additional 16,678 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of IDT in the 4th quarter worth $748,000. Institutional investors own 59.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IDT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen cut IDT from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of IDT in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Insider Transactions at IDT

In other news, EVP Menachem Ash sold 20,000 shares of IDT stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.00, for a total transaction of $1,020,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 32,243 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,644,393. The trade was a 38.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Marcelo Fischer sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.50, for a total value of $252,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 56,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,835,423.50. This trade represents a 8.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 25.41% of the company’s stock.

IDT Trading Up 0.1%

IDT opened at $52.95 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.36. The company has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of 16.24 and a beta of 0.65. IDT Corporation has a 1-year low of $45.72 and a 1-year high of $71.12.

IDT (NYSE:IDT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 10th. The utilities provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $320.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $302.00 million. IDT had a net margin of 6.49% and a return on equity of 25.97%.

IDT Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th were issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. This is a boost from IDT’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 19th. IDT’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.59%.

IDT Company Profile

IDT Corporation, founded in 1990 and headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified global provider of telecommunications and payment services. The company operates through its primary communications arm, IDT Telecom, and a digital solutions segment that encompasses cross-border money transfers and related fintech offerings. Since its inception, IDT has built an international network infrastructure to support voice and data transmission across more than 200 countries and territories.

Through IDT Telecom, the company offers a suite of voice communication products, including prepaid phone cards, VoIP services, SIP trunking and operator-assisted calling.