American Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSWA) Short Interest Up 21.8% in August

American Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSWA) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 386,400 shares, a growth of 21.8% from the July 31st total of 317,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 284,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Software news, Director Matthew G. Mckenna purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.53 per share, with a total value of $42,650.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 37,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $318,595.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director James B. Miller, Jr. purchased 3,718 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $9.15 per share, with a total value of $34,019.70. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,578.85. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Matthew G. Mckenna acquired 5,000 shares of American Software stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.53 per share, with a total value of $42,650.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 37,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,595.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Software

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP increased its stake in American Software by 121.5% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,813 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 2,640 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in American Software by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 18,379 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 1,633 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its holdings in American Software by 158.5% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 6,344 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 3,890 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in American Software by 35.1% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 38,139 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 9,912 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its stake in American Software by 172.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 59,157 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $540,000 after acquiring an additional 37,439 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMSWA has been the topic of several recent research reports. B. Riley decreased their price objective on American Software from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Maxim Group lifted their price target on shares of American Software from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd.

American Software Stock Up 1.9 %

American Software stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $11.51. 345,125 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 294,818. American Software has a 12-month low of $8.41 and a 12-month high of $12.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.40. The company has a market cap of $383.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.85 and a beta of 0.71.

American Software (NASDAQ:AMSWA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The software maker reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $26.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.89 million. American Software had a net margin of 10.39% and a return on equity of 8.93%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Software will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

American Software Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. American Software’s dividend payout ratio is currently 129.42%.

About American Software

American Software, Inc develops, markets, and supports a range of computer business application software products in the United States and internationally. It operates through Supply Chain Management (SCM), Information Technology Consulting (IT Consulting), and Other segments. The SCM segment leverages a single platform spanning eight supply chain process areas including product, demand, inventory, network optimization supply, deploy aligned with integrated business planning and supply chain data management.