Investors Buy Large Volume of Bentley Systems Call Options (NASDAQ:BSY)

Bentley Systems, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSY) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 10,130 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 3,584% compared to the typical volume of 275 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on BSY. Bank of America began coverage on Bentley Systems in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut Bentley Systems from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Piper Sandler upgraded Bentley Systems from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research cut Bentley Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Bentley Systems from $49.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.50.

Institutional Trading of Bentley Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Bentley Systems by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 9,000,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,080,000 after acquiring an additional 410,799 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Bentley Systems by 253.6% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,781,449 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,924,000 after acquiring an additional 3,429,087 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position 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 worth $163,703,000 after acquiring an additional 2,803,241 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Bentley Systems by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,468,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,060,000 after acquiring an additional 216,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Bentley Systems by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,185,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,584,000 after purchasing an additional 259,780 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.16% of the company’s stock.

Bentley Systems Trading Up 6.4%

BSY traded up $1.91 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $31.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,429,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,002,343. Bentley Systems has a twelve month low of $28.08 and a twelve month high of $59.25. The stock has a market cap of $9.29 billion, a PE ratio of 36.13, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $32.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $424.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $419.80 million. Bentley Systems had a return on equity of 28.65% and a net margin of 18.12%.The business’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Bentley Systems will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Bentley Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Bentley Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 31.82%.

About Bentley Systems

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.