CGI Group, Inc. (NYSE:GIB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of CGI Group, Inc. (NYSE:GIB) (TSE:GIB.A) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $117.00.

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $81.00 target price (down from $105.00) on shares of CGI Group in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Scotiabank started coverage on CGI Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “sector perform” rating for the company. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered CGI Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 14th. TD Securities raised shares of CGI Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of CGI Group in a research report on Monday, January 5th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CGI Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in shares of CGI Group in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in CGI Group during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in CGI Group in the third quarter worth about $144,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in CGI Group by 53.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,452 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in CGI Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $174,000. 66.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CGI Group Stock Up 3.1%

GIB stock opened at $75.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.17 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 0.63. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.32. CGI Group has a fifty-two week low of $69.96 and a fifty-two week high of $110.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

CGI Group (NYSE:GIB) (TSE:GIB.A) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.55 by ($0.04). CGI Group had a return on equity of 18.61% and a net margin of 10.25%.The firm had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.97 EPS. CGI Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CGI Group will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

CGI Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. CGI Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.36%.

About CGI Group

CGI Group Inc is a global information technology and business consulting firm that delivers a broad range of services including IT consulting, systems integration, application development and maintenance, infrastructure and network services, managed IT and business process outsourcing. The company works with clients to design, build and operate IT systems and business solutions, with capabilities spanning cloud and hybrid IT environments, cybersecurity, data analytics and artificial intelligence, digital transformation and enterprise resource planning implementations.

Founded in 1976 in Quebec by Serge Godin and André Imbeau, CGI has grown from a regional systems integrator into a multinational professional services organization.