Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY) Trading 3.1% Higher

Bentley Systems, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSY) shares rose 3.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $50.59 and last traded at $50.44. Approximately 681,499 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 37% from the average daily volume of 1,085,840 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BSY shares. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded shares of Bentley Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $60.00 in a report on Monday, February 26th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Bentley Systems in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Bentley Systems in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Bentley Systems from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Bentley Systems in a report on Thursday, March 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bentley Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.44.

Bentley Systems Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. The business’s 50-day moving average is $50.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.78. The company has a market capitalization of $14.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.98 and a beta of 1.10.

Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18. Bentley Systems had a net margin of 26.60% and a return on equity of 33.87%. The company had revenue of $310.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.67 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Bentley Systems, Incorporated will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Bentley Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This is a positive change from Bentley Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 19th. Bentley Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.24%.

Insider Activity at Bentley Systems

In related news, Director Keith A. Bentley sold 88,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.48, for a total transaction of $4,400,009.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,164,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $849,283,576.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 21.74% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bentley Systems

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BSY. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Bentley Systems in the first quarter worth about $241,000. US Bancorp DE raised its position in Bentley Systems by 250.8% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 3,436 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Bentley Systems by 96.7% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 10,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $459,000 after acquiring an additional 5,114 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Bentley Systems by 31.2% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 71,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,170,000 after acquiring an additional 17,080 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bentley Systems by 315.6% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 931 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 44.16% of the company’s stock.

Bentley Systems Company Profile

Bentley Systems, Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, provides infrastructure engineering software solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. The company offers open modeling engineering applications, such as MicroStation, OpenBridge, OpenBuildings, OpenCities, OpenComms, OpenFlows, OpenPlant, OpenRail, OpenRoads, OpenSite, OpenTower, OpenTunnel, OpenUtilities, and OpenWindowPower; and open simulation engineering applications, including ADINA, AutoPIPE, CUBE, DYNAMEQ, EMME, LEGION, Power Line Systems, RAM, SACS, SPIDA, and STAAD; and geoprofessional applications for modeling and simulation of near and deep subsurface conditions, including AGS, Central, GeoStudio, Imago, Leapfrog, MX Deposit, Oasis montaj, OpenGround, and PLAXIS.