Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Receives “Outperform” Rating from Wedbush

Wedbush reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $90.00 target price on the technology company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Pegasystems from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Pegasystems from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Pegasystems from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. TheStreet raised Pegasystems from a d+ rating to a c rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Pegasystems from $65.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $72.33.

Pegasystems Stock Performance

Pegasystems stock opened at $61.80 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.12. The company has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a PE ratio of 75.37 and a beta of 1.06. Pegasystems has a fifty-two week low of $37.66 and a fifty-two week high of $69.26.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The technology company reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.64. The business had revenue of $474.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $428.76 million. Pegasystems had a return on equity of 45.00% and a net margin of 5.32%. As a group, analysts predict that Pegasystems will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st were issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.19%. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.20, for a total value of $48,278.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 39,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,564,148. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Richard H. Jones sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.39, for a total value of $633,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 379,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,066,520.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.20, for a total value of $48,278.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,564,148. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 43,792 shares of company stock valued at $2,781,669. 50.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pegasystems

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 80.1% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 508 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 219.3% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 530 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pegasystems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Pegasystems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 80.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.89% of the company’s stock.

Pegasystems Company Profile

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.