IDT Corporation (NYSE:IDT) Short Interest Update

IDT Corporation (NYSE:IDT) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 397,568 shares, a growth of 21.7% from the February 26th total of 326,609 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 171,893 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 2.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IDT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of IDT in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen cut IDT from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

IDT Price Performance

Shares of IDT opened at $48.98 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02 and a beta of 0.76. IDT has a one year low of $45.35 and a one year high of $71.12. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $49.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.16.

IDT (NYSE:IDT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The utilities provider reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $320.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $302.00 million. IDT had a net margin of 6.49% and a return on equity of 25.97%.

IDT Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. This is an increase from IDT’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. IDT’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other IDT news, CFO Marcelo Fischer sold 7,009 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.03, for a total value of $364,678.27. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 56,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,958,581.89. This represents a 10.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,570 shares of company stock valued at $446,073. 25.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of IDT

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of IDT during the 3rd quarter worth about $96,000. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of IDT in the second quarter valued at about $239,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury acquired a new stake in IDT during the fourth quarter worth about $268,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in IDT during the third quarter worth about $399,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in IDT by 4.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,156 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares during the period. 59.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About IDT

IDT Corporation, founded in 1990 and headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified global provider of telecommunications and payment services. The company operates through its primary communications arm, IDT Telecom, and a digital solutions segment that encompasses cross-border money transfers and related fintech offerings. Since its inception, IDT has built an international network infrastructure to support voice and data transmission across more than 200 countries and territories.

Through IDT Telecom, the company offers a suite of voice communication products, including prepaid phone cards, VoIP services, SIP trunking and operator-assisted calling.