Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) Sets New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Pitney Bowes shares hit a new 52-week high, briefly reaching $18.10 as investors continued to bid up the stock.
• Analyst sentiment has improved, with several firms raising price targets and upgrades pushing the consensus rating to Moderate Buy with a $16.43 target.
• The company recently met earnings expectations for the quarter, but revenue fell 3.2% year over year; insiders have also sold a meaningful amount of stock in recent months.

Shares of Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $18.10 and last traded at $17.1170, with a volume of 3203251 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $17.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PBI. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Pitney Bowes from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $15.20 price objective on shares of Pitney Bowes in a report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Pitney Bowes from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pitney Bowes from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Pitney Bowes from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $9.50 to $16.50 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $16.43.

Pitney Bowes Price Performance

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $15.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.28. The company has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of 16.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.63.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The technology company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Pitney Bowes had a net margin of 8.92% and a negative return on equity of 33.41%. The business had revenue of $477.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $471.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.33 EPS. The company's revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Pitney Bowes Inc. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Pitney Bowes Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Pitney Bowes's payout ratio is 38.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pitney Bowes

In other news, CEO Kurt James Wolf sold 966,561 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.58, for a total value of $14,092,459.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 452,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,599,316.24. The trade was a 68.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Deborah Pfeiffer sold 18,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.06, for a total value of $301,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 97,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,571,117.68. This trade represents a 16.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 3,030,097 shares of company stock valued at $46,661,100 in the last 90 days. 6.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pitney Bowes

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longview Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pitney Bowes in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Pitney Bowes by 41.3% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,472 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Pitney Bowes by 190.9% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,747 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,459 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Pitney Bowes by 404.6% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 4,022 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Pitney Bowes in the second quarter valued at about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.88% of the company's stock.

Pitney Bowes Company Profile

Pitney Bowes Inc NYSE: PBI is an American technology company that specializes in shipping, mailing, and e-commerce solutions. Founded in 1920 by Walter Bowes and Arthur Pitney, the company pioneered postage meter technology and has since evolved to offer a broad portfolio of hardware, software, and services designed to streamline physical and digital communications. Headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, Pitney Bowes leverages a century of expertise to serve enterprises, small businesses, and government agencies around the globe.

The company's core offerings span mailing and shipping equipment, including postage meters, folder inserters, and address verification systems, alongside integrated software platforms for customer information management, data analytics, and location intelligence.

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