Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.20 EPS

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The technology company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.20), Zacks reports. Pegasystems had a return on equity of 37.83% and a net margin of 8.29%.

Pegasystems Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ PEGA traded up $2.78 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $106.09. The company had a trading volume of 1,526,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 876,426. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.57. The company has a market capitalization of $9.10 billion, a PE ratio of 77.44 and a beta of 1.11. Pegasystems has a one year low of $47.82 and a one year high of $113.67.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.11%. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio is 8.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.60, for a total value of $71,139.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,489,226.40. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.63, for a total value of $211,260.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,528,043.58. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,003 shares of company stock worth $1,346,086. Corporate insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PEGA shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Pegasystems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wedbush raised their price target on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.64.

Pegasystems Company Profile

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.