Constellation Software (TSE:CSU) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Constellation Software Inc. (TSE:CSU) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as C$3,514.18 and last traded at C$3,515.16, with a volume of 19,505 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$3,454.21.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CSU. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Constellation Software from C$3,700.00 to C$4,100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Desjardins raised their target price on Constellation Software from C$4,000.00 to C$4,100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. RBC Dominion Securities set a C$4,400.00 target price on Constellation Software and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. TD lifted their price target on Constellation Software from C$4,200.00 to C$4,500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, National Bank Financial upped their price target on Constellation Software from C$3,500.00 to C$3,700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$4,012.00.

Constellation Software Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 133.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average is C$3,093.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$2,802.07. The firm has a market capitalization of C$74.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.82.

Constellation Software (TSE:CSU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The company reported C$14.25 EPS for the quarter. Constellation Software had a net margin of 7.25% and a return on equity of 24.05%. The firm had revenue of C$5 billion during the quarter. On average, analysts predict that Constellation Software Inc. will post 55.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Constellation Software Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 18th. Constellation Software’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.80%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jamal Nizam Baksh sold 149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$2,871.23, for a total value of C$427,813.27. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 143 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$410,585.89. This trade represents a 51.03% decrease in their position. Also, insider John Edward Billowits sold 1,200 shares of Constellation Software stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$3,203.00, for a total transaction of C$3,843,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$39,621,110. This trade represents a 8.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Company insiders own 5.69% of the company’s stock.

Constellation Software Company Profile

Constellation’s common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ‘CSU’. Constellation acquires, manages and builds vertical market software businesses.