Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Strong-Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Monday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on PEGA. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.36.

Pegasystems Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ PEGA opened at $78.87 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a PE ratio of 78.09 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $96.81 and its 200 day moving average is $84.80. Pegasystems has a twelve month low of $54.55 and a twelve month high of $113.67.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.20). Pegasystems had a return on equity of 32.09% and a net margin of 6.63%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Pegasystems will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.15%. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.60, for a total value of $189,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 15,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,456,840. This trade represents a 11.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.60, for a total transaction of $71,139.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,489,226.40. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,745 shares of company stock worth $2,001,989 in the last 90 days. 50.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pegasystems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Pegasystems by 150.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the third quarter worth about $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 85.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 323 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Pegasystems by 49.1% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 656 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.