Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Receives Market Outperform Rating from JMP Securities

JMP Securities restated their market outperform rating on shares of Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $110.00 target price on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on PEGA. Citigroup upped their target price on Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Pegasystems from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pegasystems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $82.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pegasystems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.91.

Pegasystems Stock Down 19.6 %

Shares of PEGA stock opened at $85.28 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $7.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.25 and a beta of 1.11. Pegasystems has a fifty-two week low of $48.51 and a fifty-two week high of $113.67. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.73.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.20). Pegasystems had a net margin of 8.29% and a return on equity of 37.83%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pegasystems will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.14%. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.88%.

Insider Activity

In other Pegasystems news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.60, for a total transaction of $189,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 15,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,456,840. The trade was a 11.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 299 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.90, for a total transaction of $28,973.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,003 shares of company stock valued at $1,346,086 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pegasystems

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 150.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in Pegasystems during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Pegasystems by 85.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 323 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Pegasystems by 49.1% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 656 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 46.89% of the stock is currently 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.