Infosys (NYSE:INFY) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Infosys Limited (NYSE:INFY - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $21.92, but opened at $22.75. Infosys shares last traded at $22.63, with a volume of 976,203 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on INFY shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Infosys from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Infosys from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. HSBC upgraded Infosys from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Infosys from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Infosys from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.85.

Infosys Stock Up 3.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $93.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.00, a PEG ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 1.00. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $22.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.84.

Infosys (NYSE:INFY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The technology company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19. Infosys had a return on equity of 31.43% and a net margin of 17.15%. The firm had revenue of $4.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.18 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Infosys Limited will post 0.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Infosys Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 1st were issued a dividend of $0.2126 per share. This is an increase from Infosys's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a yield of 1.1%. Infosys's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Infosys

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Infosys by 24.3% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 54,163 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,015,000 after acquiring an additional 10,581 shares during the period. Ovata Capital Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Infosys during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,660,000. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in Infosys by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 152,000 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,830,000 after purchasing an additional 9,000 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Infosys by 19.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 29,330 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 4,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in Infosys by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,167,738 shares of the technology company's stock worth $96,212,000 after buying an additional 327,974 shares during the period. 16.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Infosys Company Profile

Infosys Ltd. is a digital services and consulting company, which engages in the provision of end-to-end business solutions. It operates through the following segments: Financial Services, Retail, Communication, Energy, Utilities, Resources, and Services, Manufacturing, Hi-Tech, Life Sciences, and All Other.