Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $93.91.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Tuesday. Wedbush raised their price objective on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd.

Pegasystems Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PEGA opened at $93.77 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.04 billion, a PE ratio of 68.45 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $93.01 and its 200 day moving average is $77.12. Pegasystems has a fifty-two week low of $45.36 and a fifty-two week high of $97.94.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.04. Pegasystems had a net margin of 8.29% and a return on equity of 37.83%. The firm had revenue of $325.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $326.16 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.14 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Pegasystems will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.13%. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Leon Trefler sold 8,288 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.23, for a total value of $673,234.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,057,172.28. This trade represents a 18.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Rifat Kerim Akgonul sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.07, for a total value of $80,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 47,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,772,818.33. The trade was a 2.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,914 shares of company stock worth $2,414,935. Company insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pegasystems

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PEGA. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Pegasystems in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 49.1% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 656 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Pegasystems during the 3rd quarter worth $57,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Pegasystems during the 3rd quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Pegasystems by 29.9% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,129 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.89% of the company’s stock.

About Pegasystems

Pegasystems Inc develops, markets, licenses, hosts, and supports enterprise software in the United States, rest of the Americas, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. The company provides Pega Infinity, a software portfolio comprising of Pega Customer Decision Hub, a real-time AI-powered decision engine to enhance customer acquisition and experiences across inbound, outbound, and paid media channels; Pega Customer Service to anticipate customer needs, connect customers to people and systems, and automate customer interactions to evolve the customer service experience, as well as to allow enterprises to deliver interactions across channels and enhance employee productivity; and Pega Platform, an intelligent automation software for increasing efficiency of clients’ processes and workflows.