CGI Inc. (NYSE:GIB) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

CGI Inc. (NYSE:GIB - Get Free Report) TSE: GIB.A saw a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,600,000 shares, an increase of 23.8% from the February 28th total of 2,100,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 256,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 10.2 days.

CGI Price Performance

Shares of CGI stock traded down $3.83 on Friday, hitting $96.51. 428,254 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 187,620. CGI has a 12-month low of $95.81 and a 12-month high of $122.79. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $109.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.15. The company has a market cap of $21.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

CGI (NYSE:GIB - Get Free Report) TSE: GIB.A last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41. CGI had a return on equity of 19.32% and a net margin of 11.72%. Analysts expect that CGI will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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CGI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.1039 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. CGI's payout ratio is 7.41%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of CGI in the 4th quarter valued at about $286,970,000. Canoe Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of CGI in the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,390,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in CGI by 23.6% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,513,733 shares of the technology company's stock worth $519,072,000 after acquiring an additional 861,771 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in CGI by 1,190.6% in the fourth quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 845,916 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $92,438,000 after acquiring an additional 780,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in CGI by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,992,111 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $327,007,000 after purchasing an additional 678,431 shares during the period. 66.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on GIB. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of CGI from $118.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $192.00 price objective on shares of CGI in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on CGI from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CGI presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.75.

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.