Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Bentley Systems, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSY)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $39.91 and last traded at $40.08, with a volume of 236786 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $40.36.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Bentley Systems from $65.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Bentley Systems from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Bentley Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $51.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Bentley Systems in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Bentley Systems from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.14.

Bentley Systems Stock Performance

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’s 50-day moving average is $44.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.17. The firm has a market cap of $11.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.77, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.04.

Bentley Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 19th were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This is a boost from Bentley Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 19th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Bentley Systems’s payout ratio is presently 38.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Keith A. Bentley sold 69,573 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.67, for a total value of $3,246,971.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,705,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $779,623,656.76. This represents a 0.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 21.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BSY. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Bentley Systems by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 7,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bentley Systems by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $469,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in Bentley Systems by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 5,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the period. Prudential PLC boosted its stake in Bentley Systems by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 63,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,942,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Bentley Systems by 61.1% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.16% of the company’s stock.

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.