Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY) Stock Jumps 8% – Here’s Why

Shares of Bentley Systems, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSY) traded up 8% during trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $35.45 and last traded at $34.8020. 457,535 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 2,860,896 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on BSY. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Bentley Systems in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Bentley Systems in a research report on Monday, August 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Bentley Systems from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Bentley Systems in a report on Monday, September 14th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Bentley Systems from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.38.

Bentley Systems Stock Up 3.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $10.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.31.

Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.03. Bentley Systems had a net margin of 18.10% and a return on equity of 28.43%. The company had revenue of $410.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $412.12 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Bentley Systems, Incorporated will post 1.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bentley Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 22nd. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Bentley Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Bentley Systems by 253.6% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,781,449 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,924,000 after purchasing an additional 3,429,087 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of Bentley Systems by 150.9% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,661,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,703,000 after purchasing an additional 2,803,241 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Bentley Systems in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $78,738,000. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Bentley Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,807,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Bentley Systems by 36.2% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,600,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,320,000 after purchasing an additional 691,806 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.16% of the company’s stock.

About Bentley Systems

Bentley Systems, Incorporated (NASDAQ: BSY) develops software for the design, construction, and operation of infrastructure. Its solutions support organizations involved in transportation, water and wastewater, utilities, buildings, industrial facilities, mining, and other infrastructure sectors.

The company’s product portfolio includes engineering and design applications such as MicroStation, OpenRoads, OpenBuildings, and OpenPlant, as well as ProjectWise for project collaboration and AssetWise for asset performance and operations.