AudioCodes (NASDAQ:AUDC) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

AudioCodes Ltd. (NASDAQ:AUDC) shares crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $9.90 and traded as high as $11.65. AudioCodes shares last traded at $11.33, with a volume of 84,785 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AUDC shares. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on AudioCodes from $11.00 to $12.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of AudioCodes from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of AudioCodes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th.

AudioCodes Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $342.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.66 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50 day moving average of $10.56 and a 200 day moving average of $9.90.

AudioCodes (NASDAQ:AUDC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.09. AudioCodes had a return on equity of 10.47% and a net margin of 6.32%. As a group, equities analysts predict that AudioCodes Ltd. will post 0.7 EPS for the current year.

AudioCodes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a yield of 3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. AudioCodes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AudioCodes

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AUDC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in AudioCodes by 95.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 104,037 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 50,704 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of AudioCodes during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,618,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of AudioCodes during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $595,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of AudioCodes by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 91,287 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $893,000 after buying an additional 9,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of AudioCodes by 151.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,624 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 2,185 shares in the last quarter. 68.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AudioCodes Company Profile

AudioCodes Ltd. provides advanced communications software, products, and productivity solutions for the digital workplace worldwide. The company offers solutions, products, and services for unified communications, contact centers, hosted business services, Voice.AI, and service provider businesses. Its products include session border controllers, life cycle management solutions, VoIP network routing solutions, media gateways and servers, multi-service business routers, IP phones solutions, and value-added applications, as well as professional services.