Short Interest in Bentley Systems, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSY) Expands By 5.1%

Bentley Systems, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSY) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,970,000 shares, a growth of 5.1% from the December 15th total of 5,680,000 shares. Approximately 4.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 899,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Bentley Systems in a report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Bentley Systems in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Bentley Systems from $65.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Barry J. Bentley sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.95, for a total value of $2,447,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,048,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $589,761,103.25. This trade represents a 0.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Keith A. Bentley sold 69,573 shares of Bentley Systems stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.67, for a total value 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. The trade was a 0.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 21.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bentley Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Bentley Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its position in Bentley Systems by 57.1% during the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bentley Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its holdings in shares of Bentley Systems by 500.0% in the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Bentley Systems by 49.1% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. 44.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bentley Systems Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of BSY stock opened at $45.44 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $13.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.94, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Bentley Systems has a 52 week low of $43.82 and a 52 week high of $57.19.

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

Bentley Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Bentley Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.62%.

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.