Infosys (NYSE:INFY) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Infosys Limited (NYSE:INFY) 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

INFY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Infosys from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Investec lowered shares of Infosys from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Infosys from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.85.

Infosys Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $22.28 and a 200 day moving average of $21.84. The company has a market capitalization of $93.73 billion, a PE ratio of 29.01, a PEG ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 1.00.

Infosys (NYSE:INFY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The technology company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.19. The business had revenue of $4.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. Infosys had a return on equity of 31.43% and a net margin of 17.15%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.18 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Infosys Limited will post 0.75 EPS for the current year.

Infosys Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 29th. Investors of record on Friday, January 1st were given a $0.2126 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. This is a boost from Infosys’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.20. Infosys’s payout ratio is currently 53.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Infosys by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,496 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Infosys by 15.9% during the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 63,209 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,408,000 after buying an additional 8,692 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Infosys by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,272,051 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $263,315,000 after purchasing an additional 322,648 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Infosys by 31.6% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 42,315 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $942,000 after purchasing an additional 10,149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Infosys during the third quarter worth approximately $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.20% of the company’s stock.

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.