CSG Systems International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGS) Short Interest Down 7.9% in March

CSG Systems International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGS) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,520,000 shares, a drop of 7.9% from the March 15th total of 3,820,000 shares. Approximately 12.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 295,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 11.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CSGS shares. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on CSG Systems International in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $61.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of CSG Systems International in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on CSG Systems International from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CSG Systems International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CSG Systems International

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in CSG Systems International by 4.5% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,722 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its position in shares of CSG Systems International by 5.7% during the second quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 10,396 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $548,000 after buying an additional 562 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CSG Systems International by 9.2% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,017 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 592 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Treasury Department boosted its position in shares of CSG Systems International by 4.9% during the second quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 18,263 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $963,000 after buying an additional 851 shares during the period. Finally, Credit Suisse AG boosted its position in shares of CSG Systems International by 6.1% during the second quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 32,800 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,957,000 after buying an additional 1,896 shares during the period. 91.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CSG Systems International Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of CSGS stock opened at $47.77 on Wednesday. CSG Systems International has a 12-month low of $45.27 and a 12-month high of $69.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $51.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.82.

CSG Systems International (NASDAQ:CSGS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The technology company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.04. CSG Systems International had a return on equity of 27.67% and a net margin of 5.67%. The company had revenue of $273.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $273.92 million. Equities research analysts predict that CSG Systems International will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CSG Systems International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a boost from CSG Systems International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. CSG Systems International’s payout ratio is presently 54.79%.

About CSG Systems International

CSG Systems International, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides revenue management and digital monetization, customer experience, and payment solutions primarily to the communications industry in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It offers Advanced Convergent Platform, a private SaaS platform; and related solutions, including service technician management, analytics, electronic bill presentment, etc.