Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twenty-four ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $64.2609.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CTSH shares. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $98.00 to $88.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Dbs Bank decreased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $66.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $60.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $92.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Evolve Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,642,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,421,000. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the first quarter worth $29,510,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,874,274 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $238,565,000 after acquiring an additional 734,337 shares during the period. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.9% in the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 20,262,362 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,243,096,000 after acquiring an additional 2,633,683 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $44.64 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $21.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.87. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 52-week low of $37.08 and a 52-week high of $87.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $47.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.60.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.630-5.770 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 5.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, May 18th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology service provider to buy up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given 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 is 28.70%.

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.