Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Hits New 12-Month High on Strong Earnings

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $78.54 and last traded at $76.93, with a volume of 29718 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.73.

The technology company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $325.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $326.16 million. Pegasystems had a return on equity of 49.62% and a net margin of 8.72%. Pegasystems’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.14 EPS.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Pegasystems’s payout ratio is currently 8.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on PEGA. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com raised shares of Pegasystems from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Pegasystems from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, William Blair upgraded Pegasystems from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pegasystems news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 3,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.55, for a total transaction of $203,933.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,229,207.35. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 3,019 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.55, for a total value of $203,933.45. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,229,207.35. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $54,067.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,211.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 44,955 shares of company stock valued at $3,136,247. 50.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pegasystems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Pegasystems by 15,120.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the third quarter valued at about $57,000. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 64.0% in the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 869 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 633.9% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,233 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Pegasystems during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $104,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.89% of the company’s stock.

Pegasystems Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.12. The stock has a market cap of $6.84 billion, a PE ratio of 55.19 and a beta of 1.07.

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.