Cass Information Systems (NASDAQ:CASS) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cass Information Systems (NASDAQ:CASS) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

CASS has been the subject of several other reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target (down from $47.00) on shares of Cass Information Systems in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cass Information Systems in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cass Information Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cass Information Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.50.

Cass Information Systems Stock Up 1.0%

CASS opened at $42.95 on Monday. Cass Information Systems has a 52 week low of $36.07 and a 52 week high of $47.00. The stock has a market cap of $561.79 million, a PE ratio of 18.43 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50 day moving average of $40.12 and a 200-day moving average of $41.71.

Cass Information Systems (NASDAQ:CASS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $54.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $50.20 million. Cass Information Systems had a return on equity of 11.61% and a net margin of 16.48%. Equities analysts anticipate that Cass Information Systems will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

Cass Information Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from Cass Information Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Cass Information Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.94%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CASS. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Cass Information Systems during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Cass Information Systems by 50.7% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,227 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Cass Information Systems by 1,206.6% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,472 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cass Information Systems by 16.4% in the 2nd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,667 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cass Information Systems by 49.4% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,840 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 59.08% of the company’s stock.

About Cass Information Systems

Cass Information Systems, Inc provides payment and information processing services to manufacturing, distribution, and retail enterprises in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Information Services and Banking Services. Its services include freight invoice rating, payment processing, auditing, and the generation of accounting and transportation information.