Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $82.60.

PEGA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Monday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Pegasystems from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Pegasystems from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on Pegasystems from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $54,067.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,211.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Sharon T. Rowlands acquired 8,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $58.63 per share, with a total value of $504,218.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 30,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,809,966.73. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,211.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,544 shares of company stock worth $1,872,737 in the last three months. Company insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pegasystems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PEGA. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Pegasystems during the fourth quarter valued at about $85,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Pegasystems by 40.5% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,002 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $635,000 after buying an additional 3,751 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Pegasystems by 45.6% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 8,944 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 219.3% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 530 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Pegasystems during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pegasystems Stock Performance

NASDAQ PEGA opened at $70.22 on Friday. Pegasystems has a one year low of $37.66 and a one year high of $72.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $62.72 and a 200 day moving average of $61.60. The company has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.63 and a beta of 1.08.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.30. Pegasystems had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 49.62%. The firm had revenue of $351.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.55 million. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.41) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Pegasystems will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st were paid a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 1st. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.63%.

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.