Short Interest in CSP Inc. (NASDAQ:CSPI) Increases By 15.0%

CSP Inc. (NASDAQ:CSPI) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 463,500 shares, an increase of 15.0% from the March 15th total of 402,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 174,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph R. Nerges bought 1,940 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $17.97 per share, for a total transaction of $34,852.10. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 1,335,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,989,850.19. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders bought a total of 3,140 shares of company stock worth $57,400 in the last quarter. 15.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. UBS Group AG purchased a new stake in CSP during the third quarter valued at $38,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in CSP by 100.0% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,000 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp purchased a new stake in CSP during the first quarter valued at $80,000. Northern Trust Corp purchased a new stake in CSP during the fourth quarter valued at $305,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its position in CSP by 112.9% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 18,756 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 9,948 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.74% of the company’s stock.

CSP Stock Performance

Shares of CSPI stock traded up $0.89 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $17.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 77,542 shares, compared to its average volume of 163,716. CSP has a 52-week low of $4.91 and a 52-week high of $29.92. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $19.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.59. The stock has a market cap of $166.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.31 and a beta of 1.24.

CSP (NASDAQ:CSPI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The information technology services provider reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter. CSP had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 6.33%. The business had revenue of $15.38 million during the quarter.

CSP Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.025 dividend. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. CSP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut CSP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. TheStreet cut CSP from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th.

About CSP

CSP Inc develops and markets IT integration solutions, security products, managed IT services, cloud services, purpose-built network adapters, and cluster computer systems for commercial and defense customers worldwide. It operates in two segments, Technology Solutions and High Performance Products. The Technology Solutions segment provides third-party computer hardware and software as a value-added reseller to various customers in web and infrastructure hosting, education, telecommunications, healthcare services, distribution, financial and professional services, and manufacturing industries.