Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $100.27.

PEGA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $119.00 to $107.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (up from $85.00) on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Pegasystems from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th.

Pegasystems Stock Performance

PEGA traded up $0.25 on Friday, hitting $91.36. The company had a trading volume of 493,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 995,334. Pegasystems has a 12-month low of $55.71 and a 12-month high of $113.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.45 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $73.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.89.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.20). Pegasystems had a return on equity of 32.09% and a net margin of 6.63%. Analysts forecast that Pegasystems will post 1.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.015 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.07%. Pegasystems's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pegasystems news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.63, for a total value of $211,260.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,528,043.58. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Alan Trefler sold 31,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.41, for a total transaction of $2,154,915.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 17,184,614 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,175,599,443.74. The trade was a 0.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 116,949 shares of company stock worth $8,703,263. Insiders own 50.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pegasystems

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PEGA. Stifel Financial Corp bought a new position in Pegasystems during the third quarter worth $467,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the third quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Pegasystems by 54.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,031 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $10,362,000 after purchasing an additional 49,433 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Pegasystems by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 88,554 shares of the technology company's stock worth $8,353,000 after purchasing an additional 7,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,401 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.