CGI (NYSE:GIB) Sets New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

CGI Inc. (NYSE:GIB - Get Free Report) TSE: GIB.A's share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $122.06 and last traded at $122.33, with a volume of 60249 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $120.65.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on GIB. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $178.00 target price on shares of CGI in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of CGI from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of CGI from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of CGI from $118.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $153.25.

CGI Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $27.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.78, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $112.57 and a 200-day moving average of $112.30.

CGI (NYSE:GIB - Get Free Report) TSE: GIB.A last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The technology company reported $1.41 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CGI Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CGI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.1039 per share. 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 0.34%. CGI's payout ratio is 8.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CGI

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of CGI by 14.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,365 shares of the technology company's stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of CGI by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,179 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,895,000 after buying an additional 3,490 shares during the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new position in CGI in the third quarter valued at approximately $467,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CGI by 288.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 788 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the period. Finally, Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of CGI in the third quarter worth about $208,000. 66.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CGI

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.