StockNews.com Upgrades Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) to Strong-Buy

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

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on PEGA. William Blair raised shares of Pegasystems from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Loop Capital raised shares of Pegasystems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $68.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $77.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.60.

Pegasystems Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:PEGA opened at $73.30 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a PE ratio of 89.39 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $69.42 and its 200 day moving average is $63.67. Pegasystems has a 12 month low of $37.66 and a 12 month high of $74.50.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.30. Pegasystems had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 49.62%. The business had revenue of $351.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $323.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.41) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Pegasystems will post 1.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 3,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 18,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,229,207.35. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 3,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 18,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,229,207.35. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Rifat Kerim Akgonul sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $70,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 50,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,535,350. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,955 shares of company stock worth $3,206,247. Corporate insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pegasystems

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Pegasystems during the third quarter valued at about $571,000. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in Pegasystems during the third quarter valued at about $2,638,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in Pegasystems by 47.6% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 31,306 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,288,000 after buying an additional 10,103 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Pegasystems during the second quarter valued at about $378,000. Finally, Seaport Global Advisors LLC boosted its position in Pegasystems by 83.9% during the second quarter. Seaport Global Advisors LLC now owns 15,200 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $920,000 after buying an additional 6,935 shares during the period. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.