CGI Inc. (NYSE:GIB) Short Interest Update

CGI Inc. (NYSE:GIB) (TSE:GIB.A) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,680,000 shares, a growth of 12.8% from the December 31st total of 1,490,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 148,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 11.3 days. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

CGI Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of GIB traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $118.13. 307,498 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 198,619. The business has a 50 day moving average of $111.08 and a 200 day moving average of $111.47. The company has a market capitalization of $26.78 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.94. CGI has a 1-year low of $96.92 and a 1-year high of $121.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

CGI (NYSE:GIB) (TSE:GIB.A) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.41. CGI had a return on equity of 19.32% and a net margin of 11.72%. Equities research analysts anticipate that CGI will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

CGI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.1039 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. CGI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GIB. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of CGI from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of CGI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. CIBC upgraded shares of CGI from a “neutral” rating to an “outperformer” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $178.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of CGI from $118.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $178.00 price target on shares of CGI in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $153.25.

Institutional Trading of CGI

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in CGI by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 16,290,487 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,876,550,000 after buying an additional 230,000 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in CGI by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,513,733 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $519,072,000 after purchasing an additional 861,771 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp increased its holdings in CGI by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 4,384,639 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $505,173,000 after purchasing an additional 114,864 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of CGI by 3.3% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,275,421 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $373,887,000 after acquiring an additional 104,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its position in shares of CGI by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,978,249 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $216,369,000 after purchasing an additional 40,492 shares during the last quarter. 66.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CGI Company Profile

CGI Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides information technology (IT) and business process services. Its services include the business and strategic IT consulting, systems integration, and software solutions. The company also provides application development, modernization and maintenance, holistic enterprise digitization, automation, hybrid and cloud management, and business process services; intellectual property-based solutions; business consulting; managed IT services; and IT infrastructure services.