SAP (NYSE:SAP) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of SAP (NYSE:SAP) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on SAP. KeyCorp initiated coverage on SAP in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an overweight rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on SAP from $185.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on SAP from $147.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays increased their price target on SAP from $189.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded SAP from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $193.80.

SAP Stock Performance

Shares of SAP stock opened at $180.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $162.12. SAP has a fifty-two week low of $126.40 and a fifty-two week high of $199.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

SAP (NYSE:SAP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The software maker reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.17). SAP had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 9.54%. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.98 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that SAP will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

SAP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $2.3852 dividend. This is an increase from SAP’s previous annual dividend of $2.19. This represents a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. SAP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SAP

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SAP during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of SAP by 130.8% during the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SAP during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Column Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of SAP by 121.0% during the 3rd quarter. Column Capital Advisors LLC now owns 221 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SAP during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000.

About SAP

SAP SE, together with its subsidiaries, provides applications, technology, and services worldwide. It offers SAP S/4HANA that provides software capabilities for finance, risk and project management, procurement, manufacturing, supply chain and asset management, and research and development; SAP SuccessFactors solutions for human resources, including HR and payroll, talent and employee experience management, and people and workforce analytics; and spend management solutions that covers direct and indirect spend, travel and expense, and external workforce management.