Cass Information Systems, Inc (NASDAQ:CASS) Short Interest Up 18.8% in March

Cass Information Systems, Inc (NASDAQ:CASS) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 297,359 shares, an increase of 18.8% from the March 15th total of 250,322 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 75,763 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CASS. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in Cass Information Systems in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Cass Information Systems in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Cass Information Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Cass Information Systems by 50.7% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,227 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,472 shares in the last quarter. 59.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cass Information Systems Stock Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:CASS traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $47.05. 2,369 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 76,251. Cass Information Systems has a 52 week low of $36.07 and a 52 week high of $47.42. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.59. The firm has a market cap of $607.26 million, a P/E ratio of 17.96 and a beta of 0.42.

Cass Information Systems (NASDAQ:CASS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $28.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.60 million. Cass Information Systems had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 18.41%. On average, analysts expect that Cass Information Systems will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

Cass Information Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. Cass Information Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CASS shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Cass Information Systems from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Cass Information Systems in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cass Information Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

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. The company also processes and pays facility-related invoices, such as electricity, gas, waste, and telecommunications expenses; and provides telecom expense management solutions, as well as church management software solution and on-line platform to provide generosity services for faith-based and non-profit organizations.