Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Issues Earnings Results

Key Points

• Pegasystems reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.12, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.06, while maintaining a return on equity of 42.42%.
• The company's stock rose by 4.1% following the earnings announcement, reaching $57.05, with a significant trading volume of over 2.7 million shares.
• Pegasystems declared a quarterly dividend of $0.03, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.2% and an ongoing dividend payout ratio of 10.34%.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The technology company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.06), Zacks reports. Pegasystems had a return on equity of 42.42% and a net margin of 13.14%.

Pegasystems Stock Up 4.1%

NASDAQ:PEGA traded up $2.26 on Tuesday, hitting $57.05. The stock had a trading volume of 2,711,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,825,876. Pegasystems has a 52 week low of $29.84 and a 52 week high of $61.00. The business's fifty day moving average is $55.57 and its 200 day moving average is $50.92. The company has a market cap of $9.76 billion, a PE ratio of 48.97 and a beta of 1.08.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st were issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Pegasystems's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.34%.

Insider Activity at Pegasystems

In other Pegasystems news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 11,147 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.19, for a total transaction of $648,643.93. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 119,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,975,118.92. This represents a 8.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 2,544 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.00, for a total transaction of $150,096.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 132,607 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,274 over the last three months. 49.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pegasystems

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in Pegasystems by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,848 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Pegasystems by 83.8% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,270 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 1,035 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Pegasystems by 450.4% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,844 shares of the technology company's stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 1,509 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Pegasystems during the second quarter worth $209,000. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. purchased a new stake in Pegasystems in the 2nd quarter valued at $231,000. Institutional investors own 46.89% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays increased their price target on Pegasystems from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Pegasystems from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on Pegasystems from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.50.

About Pegasystems

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.

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