Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY) Upgraded by BNP Paribas Exane to “Strong-Buy” Rating

BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY) to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports.

Several other research firms have also commented on BSY. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Bentley Systems from $43.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their target price on shares of Bentley Systems from $58.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Bentley Systems from $53.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Bentley Systems from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $42.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Bentley Systems from $49.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.50.

Bentley Systems Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ BSY opened at $29.38 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.00. Bentley Systems has a 12 month low of $28.42 and a 12 month high of $59.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $32.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.89.

Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $424.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $419.80 million. Bentley Systems had a net margin of 18.12% and a return on equity of 28.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Bentley Systems will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bentley Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 2nd. Bentley Systems’s payout ratio is presently 31.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bentley Systems

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BSY. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Bentley Systems by 10.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,607,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $957,922,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,591 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its position in Bentley Systems by 4.8% in the first quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 9,000,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,080,000 after buying an additional 410,799 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Bentley Systems by 253.6% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,781,449 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,924,000 after buying an additional 3,429,087 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of Bentley Systems by 150.9% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,661,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,703,000 after buying an additional 2,803,241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Bentley Systems by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,468,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,060,000 after acquiring an additional 216,257 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.16% of the company’s stock.

Bentley Systems Company Profile

Bentley Systems, Inc is a global software provider specializing in infrastructure engineering applications for the design, construction, and operations of roads, bridges, rail and transit systems, water and wastewater networks, power plants and grids, industrial facilities, and communications infrastructure. Founded in 1984 by brothers Keith and Barry Bentley, the company is headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania, and maintains offices and development centers across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.