Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY) Hits New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Bentley Systems, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSY)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Thursday after The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a sell rating. The Goldman Sachs Group now has a $42.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $51.00. Bentley Systems traded as low as $43.75 and last traded at $43.99, with a volume of 373842 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $44.62.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on BSY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Bentley Systems in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Bentley Systems from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Bentley Systems in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer cut shares of Bentley Systems from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Bentley Systems from $65.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.14.

Insider Activity at Bentley Systems

In related news, Director Keith A. Bentley sold 1,152 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.33, for a total value of $53,372.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,703,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $773,890,575.08. This represents a 0.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 21.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bentley Systems

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BSY. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Bentley Systems by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,007,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,242,000 after buying an additional 1,873,029 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Bentley Systems by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,614,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,209,000 after acquiring an additional 24,019 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in Bentley Systems by 41.9% during the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,493,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,719,000 after acquiring an additional 736,369 shares during the period. AXA S.A. grew its stake in Bentley Systems by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 1,603,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,867,000 after acquiring an additional 112,824 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Bentley Systems by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,439,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,204,000 after acquiring an additional 228,502 shares in the last quarter. 44.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bentley Systems Stock Down 1.0 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $46.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $12.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.03.

Bentley Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 19th will be paid a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 19th. This is a positive change from Bentley Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Bentley Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.62%.

About Bentley Systems

Bentley Systems, Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, provides infrastructure engineering software solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. The company offers open modeling engineering applications, such as MicroStation, OpenBridge, OpenBuildings, OpenCities, OpenComms, OpenFlows, OpenPlant, OpenRail, OpenRoads, OpenSite, OpenTower, OpenTunnel, OpenUtilities, and OpenWindowPower; and open simulation engineering applications, including ADINA, AutoPIPE, CUBE, DYNAMEQ, EMME, LEGION, Power Line Systems, RAM, SACS, SPIDA, and STAAD; and geoprofessional applications for modeling and simulation of near and deep subsurface conditions, including AGS, Central, GeoStudio, Imago, Leapfrog, MX Deposit, Oasis montaj, OpenGround, and PLAXIS.