Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Buy"

Key Points

• Pitney Bowes stock was downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, while Sidoti has raised its rating to "hold."
• The company reported $0.27 EPS in its latest quarterly results, matching analyst expectations, but its revenue fell 5.7% year-over-year.
• Pitney Bowes has authorized a $400 million stock buyback, indicating confidence from the board that the stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday.

Separately, Sidoti upgraded shares of Pitney Bowes to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Pitney Bowes presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Pitney Bowes Stock Down 2.0%

PBI stock traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $12.06. 1,882,376 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,155,713. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.09, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.16. Pitney Bowes has a 12-month low of $6.22 and a 12-month high of $13.11.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.27. The company had revenue of $461.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $475.92 million. Pitney Bowes had a negative net margin of 5.60% and a negative return on equity of 38.01%. The firm's revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. Pitney Bowes has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.200-1.400 EPS. Research analysts predict that Pitney Bowes will post 1.21 EPS for the current year.

Pitney Bowes declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 30th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 18.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Pitney Bowes Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This is a boost from Pitney Bowes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Pitney Bowes's dividend payout ratio is presently -53.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Deborah Pfeiffer sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.14, for a total value of $424,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 115,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,401,016.70. The trade was a 23.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in Pitney Bowes by 54.0% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 566,511 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $6,181,000 after purchasing an additional 198,743 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Pitney Bowes by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 120,771 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,318,000 after purchasing an additional 4,658 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. raised its stake in Pitney Bowes by 61.1% in the 2nd quarter. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. now owns 22,044 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 8,361 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in Pitney Bowes by 49.9% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 42,596 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $465,000 after buying an additional 14,183 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in Pitney Bowes by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 538,356 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $5,873,000 after buying an additional 37,002 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.88% of the company's stock.

About Pitney Bowes

Pitney Bowes Inc, a shipping and mailing company, provides technology, logistics, and financial services to small and medium-sized businesses, large enterprises, retailers, and government clients in the United States and internationally. It operates through Global Ecommerce, Presort Services, and SendTech Solutions segments.