Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $97.17 and last traded at $97.09, with a volume of 29252 shares. The stock had previously closed at $95.51.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on PEGA. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Pegasystems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Pegasystems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.90.

Pegasystems Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $82.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.39 and a beta of 1.09.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $325.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.16 million. Pegasystems had a return on equity of 37.83% and a net margin of 8.29%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.12%. Pegasystems’s payout ratio is currently 8.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pegasystems

In other news, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.60, for a total transaction of $71,139.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,489,226.40. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.17, for a total value of $73,170.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,262 shares in the company, valued at $1,263,060.54. The trade was a 5.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,415 shares of company stock worth $1,667,761 over the last quarter. Insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pegasystems

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PEGA. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 49.1% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 656 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the third quarter worth about $57,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the third quarter worth about $67,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 29.9% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,129 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.89% of the company’s stock.

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.