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

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $85.90.

PEGA has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Pegasystems from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Loop Capital upgraded Pegasystems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Pegasystems from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th.

Pegasystems Price Performance

PEGA opened at $79.44 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.99 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.76. Pegasystems has a 1-year low of $41.73 and a 1-year high of $82.50.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $325.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.16 million. Pegasystems had a return on equity of 37.83% and a net margin of 8.29%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Pegasystems will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Pegasystems’s payout ratio is 8.76%.

Insider Activity at Pegasystems

In other news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 3,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.55, for a total value of $203,933.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,229,207.35. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Rifat Kerim Akgonul sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.07, for a total transaction of $80,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 47,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,772,818.33. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 3,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.55, for a total value of $203,933.45. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,229,207.35. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,277 shares of company stock worth $2,325,331 in the last three months. 50.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pegasystems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Optimist Retirement Group LLC raised its holdings in Pegasystems by 5.0% in the second quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 3,434 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Pegasystems by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,099 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 29.9% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,129 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Pegasystems by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,744 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duality Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 2.7% during the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 13,690 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $885,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. 46.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.