Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $61.8333.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PEGA shares. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Pegasystems from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen cut Pegasystems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 17th. Wedbush raised their price objective on Pegasystems from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on Pegasystems from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on Pegasystems from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th.

Pegasystems Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of PEGA opened at $53.87 on Thursday. Pegasystems has a 12-month low of $29.84 and a 12-month high of $60.96. The business’s fifty day moving average is $53.79 and its 200 day moving average is $46.27. The stock has a market cap of $9.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.24 and a beta of 1.08.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.04. Pegasystems had a return on equity of 42.42% and a net margin of 13.14%.The company had revenue of $384.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $345.07 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. Pegasystems’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Pegasystems will post 1.89 EPS for the current year.

Pegasystems Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This is a boost from Pegasystems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pegasystems

In related news, insider John Gerard Higgins sold 23,660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total transaction of $1,209,380.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,943,698.99. This trade represents a 38.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 582 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.65, for a total transaction of $34,716.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 237,768 shares of company stock worth $14,251,600. 50.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pegasystems

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in Pegasystems by 274.2% during the second quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 565 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. CX Institutional purchased a new stake in Pegasystems in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Pegasystems by 139.7% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 549 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management raised its stake in Pegasystems by 124.5% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 696 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Pegasystems by 159.8% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 730 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.