Progress Software (NASDAQ:PRGS) Sees Large Volume Increase Following Strong Earnings

Shares of Progress Software Co. (NASDAQ:PRGS) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. Approximately 1,346,535 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 138% from the previous session’s volume of 566,609 shares.The stock last traded at $52.05 and had previously closed at $52.65.

The software maker reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $184.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $181.91 million. Progress Software had a return on equity of 37.42% and a net margin of 10.11%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share.

Progress Software Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Progress Software’s dividend payout ratio is 44.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PRGS. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of Progress Software in a research note on Wednesday. Wedbush upped their price objective on Progress Software from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Progress Software from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progress Software has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Sundar Subramanian sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.12, for a total value of $39,090.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $726,657.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Yogesh K. Gupta sold 40,174 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.95, for a total transaction of $2,287,909.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 186,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,624,478.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sundar Subramanian sold 750 shares of Progress Software stock in a transaction on Monday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.12, for a total transaction of $39,090.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $726,657.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 81,998 shares of company stock valued at $4,651,992. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Progress Software

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Comerica Bank bought a new stake in shares of Progress Software during the 2nd quarter worth $37,308,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new stake in Progress Software during the third quarter valued at about $27,737,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Progress Software during the fourth quarter worth about $20,040,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Progress Software in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $18,751,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Progress Software by 1,128.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 355,742 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $20,437,000 after acquiring an additional 326,780 shares during the period.

Progress Software Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $55.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.22. The company has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 33.51, a PEG ratio of 6.95 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

About Progress Software

Progress Software Corporation develops, deploys, and manages business applications in the United States and internationally. The company offers OpenEdge, an application development platform for running business-critical applications; Chef, a DevOps/DevSecOps automation software; Developer Tools that consists of software development tooling collection, including .NET and JavaScript UI components for web, desktop and mobile applications, reporting and report management tools, and automated testing and mocking tools; Kemp LoadMaster, an application delivery and security product offering cloud-native, and virtual and hardware load balancers; and Sitefinity, a digital experience platform foundation delivering intelligent and ROI-driving tools for marketers.