Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday.

PEGA has been the subject of several other research reports. William Blair upgraded shares of Pegasystems from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on Pegasystems from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Pegasystems from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Pegasystems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.90.

Pegasystems Stock Performance

Shares of Pegasystems stock opened at $91.52 on Thursday. Pegasystems has a 1 year low of $44.07 and a 1 year high of $91.67. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.85. The firm has a market cap of $7.85 billion, a PE ratio of 66.80 and a beta of 1.06.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $325.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $326.16 million. Pegasystems had a return on equity of 37.83% and a net margin of 8.29%. The business’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Pegasystems will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.13%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.76%.

Insider Transactions at Pegasystems

In other news, insider Rifat Kerim Akgonul sold 1,000 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.41, for a total transaction of $70,410.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,274,417.05. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total value of $53,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $142. This represents a 99.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,345 shares of company stock valued at $2,507,284 over the last three months. Company insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pegasystems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in Pegasystems in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Pegasystems by 49.1% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 656 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Pegasystems by 15,120.0% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 761 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in Pegasystems in the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Pegasystems in the 3rd quarter worth $67,000. 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.