Open Text (NASDAQ:OTEX) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Shares of Open Text Co. (NASDAQ:OTEX - Get Free Report) TSE: OTC gapped up prior to trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $29.53, but opened at $30.83. Open Text shares last traded at $28.58, with a volume of 505,948 shares.

The software maker reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.10. Open Text had a return on equity of 23.33% and a net margin of 12.21%.

Open Text Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.2625 dividend. This represents a $1.05 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Open Text's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Open Text's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OTEX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Open Text from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Open Text from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup raised their price target on Open Text from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group assumed coverage on Open Text in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Open Text from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $35.18.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of OTEX. Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Open Text during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,180,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Open Text by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 238,629 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $6,758,000 after acquiring an additional 16,540 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Open Text by 406.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 298,979 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $8,461,000 after purchasing an additional 239,906 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Open Text in the fourth quarter worth about $830,000. Finally, Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its holdings in Open Text by 36.9% during the fourth quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 202,887 shares of the software maker's stock worth $5,731,000 after acquiring an additional 54,699 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.37% of the company's stock.

Open Text Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $28.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.61. The company has a market capitalization of $7.60 billion, a PE ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 1.12.

About Open Text

Open Text Corporation provides information management software and solutions. The company offers content services, which includes content collaboration and intelligent capture to records management, collaboration, e-signatures, and archiving; and operates experience cloud platform that provides customer experience and web content management, digital asset management, customer analytics, AI and insights, e-discovery, digital fax, omnichannel communications, secure messaging, and voice of customer, as well as customer journey, testing, and segmentation.