Jefferies Financial Group Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for The Sage Group (LON:SGE)

The Sage Group (LON:SGE)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a GBX 1,480 ($19.64) price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 23.17% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on SGE. Shore Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of The Sage Group in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a GBX 1,500 ($19.91) price target on shares of The Sage Group in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a GBX 1,350 ($17.92) target price on shares of The Sage Group in a report on Thursday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on The Sage Group from GBX 1,090 ($14.47) to GBX 1,080 ($14.34) and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of GBX 3,500 ($46.46).

The Sage Group Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of SGE opened at GBX 1,201.63 ($15.95) on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of £11.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.53. The Sage Group has a one year low of GBX 960 ($12.74) and a one year high of GBX 1,349 ($17.91). The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 114.00, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of GBX 1,242.57 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 1,243.94.

The Sage Group (LON:SGE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The company reported GBX 20.80 ($0.28) EPS for the quarter. The Sage Group had a return on equity of 24.48% and a net margin of 11.87%. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Sage Group will post 42.1496095 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Sage Group declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 15th that permits the company to buyback 0 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Steve Hare bought 3,076 shares of The Sage Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 1,206 ($16.01) per share, with a total value of £37,096.56 ($49,238.86). 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About The Sage Group

The Sage Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides technology solutions and services for small and medium businesses in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and internationally. It offers cloud native solutions, such as Sage Intacct, a cloud accounting software product and financial management software; Sage People, a HR and people management solution; Sage 200, a finance and business management solution; Sage X3, a business management solution; Sage Accounting, a solution for small businesses, accountants, and bookkeepers to manage customer data, accounts, and people; Sage Payroll for small businesses manage their payroll; and Sage HR for small and mid-sized businesses for record management, leave management, staff scheduling, and expenses services.