Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Issues FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided EPS guidance of 4.560-4.640 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 4.650. The company issued revenue guidance of $19.5 billion-$19.8 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $19.5 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions also updated its Q3 2024 guidance to EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CTSH shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Daiwa America upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a neutral rating and set a $76.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Mizuho restated a neutral rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $77.44.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

CTSH traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $75.20. 3,083,516 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,927,063. The stock has a market cap of $37.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.46. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 12 month low of $62.14 and a 12 month high of $80.27.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The information technology service provider reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The business had revenue of $4.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Cognizant Technology Solutions's payout ratio is currently 28.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total transaction of $495,584.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 46,427 shares in the company, valued at $3,419,812.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation, a professional services company, provides consulting and technology, and outsourcing services in North America, Europe, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Financial Services, Health Sciences, Products and Resources, and Communications, Media and Technology.