Brokerages Set CSG Systems International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGS) Price Target at $71.71

Shares of CSG Systems International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGS) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $71.71.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CSGS shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of CSG Systems International from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of CSG Systems International from $51.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered CSG Systems International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price (up from $78.00) on shares of CSG Systems International in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on CSG Systems International from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

CSG Systems International Stock Down 2.2 %

NASDAQ:CSGS opened at $59.53 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88. CSG Systems International has a twelve month low of $39.56 and a twelve month high of $67.60. The company has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50 day moving average is $61.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.53.

CSG Systems International (NASDAQ:CSGS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The technology company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.20. CSG Systems International had a return on equity of 39.42% and a net margin of 7.25%. Analysts anticipate that CSG Systems International will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

CSG Systems International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 19th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. This is a boost from CSG Systems International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 19th. CSG Systems International’s payout ratio is presently 42.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ronald Cooper sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.62, for a total value of $599,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 41,561 shares in the company, valued at $2,768,793.82. This represents a 17.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 3.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CSG Systems International

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CSG Systems International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,222,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position in shares of CSG Systems International by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,065,484 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $54,457,000 after acquiring an additional 88,216 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CSG Systems International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,300,000. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its stake in CSG Systems International by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 104,783 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,355,000 after acquiring an additional 16,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of CSG Systems International by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 678,994 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,039,000 after purchasing an additional 4,903 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.07% of the company’s stock.

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.