Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Sets New 12-Month High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Key Points

• Pegasystems' stock reached a new 52-week high of $67.00 following a strong earnings report, which showed earnings per share (EPS) of $0.30, beating expectations.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.03 per share, with a 0.2% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 10.34%.
• Several analysts have updated their ratings for Pegasystems, with the average rating now classified as "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.50.

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $67.00 and last traded at $62.38, with a volume of 1002266 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $57.05.

The technology company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.12. Pegasystems had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 42.42%. The company had revenue of $381.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $351.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. Pegasystems's revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Pegasystems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 17th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 2,544 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.00, for a total transaction of $150,096.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 11,147 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 119,868 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,975,118.92. This trade represents a 8.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 132,607 shares of company stock valued at $7,644,274 in the last three months. 50.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PEGA. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in Pegasystems by 5.3% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 3,060 shares of the technology company's stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Pegasystems by 50.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 599 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in Pegasystems by 20.5% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,331 shares of the technology company's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Pegasystems by 139.7% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 549 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Pegasystems by 2.8% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 13,756 shares of the technology company's stock worth $956,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the period. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pegasystems Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $55.69 and a 200-day moving average of $50.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.83 and a beta of 1.08.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.