Bentley Systems, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSY) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Bentley Systems, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSY) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,970,000 shares, a growth of 5.1% from the December 31st total of 5,680,000 shares. Approximately 4.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 899,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.6 days.

Bentley Systems Price Performance

NASDAQ BSY opened at $46.55 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $47.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.57. Bentley Systems has a 52-week low of $43.82 and a 52-week high of $57.19. The company has a market cap of $13.53 billion, a PE ratio of 41.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.04.

Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24. Bentley Systems had a net margin of 27.73% and a return on equity of 29.50%. The firm had revenue of $335.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $340.36 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.18 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bentley Systems will post 0.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bentley Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Bentley Systems’s payout ratio is 21.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Bentley Systems from $65.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Bentley Systems in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Bentley Systems in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $52.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bentley Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Keith A. Bentley sold 69,573 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.67, for a total transaction of $3,246,971.91. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,705,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $779,623,656.76. This represents a 0.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 21.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bentley Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bentley Systems in the third quarter worth $59,400,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bentley Systems by 20.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 204,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,396,000 after buying an additional 34,871 shares during the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Bentley Systems in the fourth quarter worth $8,413,000. Needham Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bentley Systems during the third quarter worth $2,134,000. Finally, Mirabella Financial Services LLP raised its holdings in shares of Bentley Systems by 1,155.0% during the third quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP now owns 100,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,018,000 after purchasing an additional 92,768 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.16% of the company’s stock.

Bentley Systems Company Profile

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.