Cass Information Systems (NASDAQ:CASS) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Cass Information Systems, Inc (NASDAQ:CASS) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $47.00 and last traded at $46.51, with a volume of 3511 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $46.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CASS. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Cass Information Systems in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cass Information Systems in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Cass Information Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cass Information Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Cass Information Systems Stock Up 0.2%

The stock has a market cap of $613.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.94 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.65.

Cass Information Systems (NASDAQ:CASS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $49.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.60 million. Cass Information Systems had a return on equity of 13.33% and a net margin of 18.41%. As a group, analysts expect that Cass Information Systems, Inc will post 2.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cass Information Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 3rd. Cass Information Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 48.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cass Information Systems

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cass Information Systems by 49.7% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 69,404 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,016,000 after buying an additional 23,047 shares during the period. CSM Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cass Information Systems during the second quarter valued at $4,045,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cass Information Systems by 92.6% in the 3rd quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 551,096 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,675,000 after purchasing an additional 264,943 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cass Information Systems by 63.7% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 278,138 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,085,000 after purchasing an additional 108,185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Cass Information Systems by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 66,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,905,000 after purchasing an additional 3,242 shares in the last quarter. 59.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cass Information Systems Company Profile

Cass Information Systems, Inc provides payment and information processing services to manufacturing, distribution, and retail enterprises in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Information Services and Banking Services. Its services include freight invoice rating, payment processing, auditing, and the generation of accounting and transportation information. The company also processes and pays facility-related invoices, such as electricity, gas, waste, and telecommunications expenses; and provides telecom expense management solutions, as well as church management software solution and on-line platform to provide generosity services for faith-based and non-profit organizations.