Sage Group plc (LON: SGE) Share Price on 3 December 2025: £300m Buyback, Dividend Hike and 2026 Stock Forecast

London – 3 December 2025 – Shares in The Sage Group plc, the FTSE 100 accounting and ERP software specialist, are trading in a tight range just above 1,060p while the company ramps up a new £300 million share buyback and prepares to pay a higher dividend on the back of double‑digit earnings growth. ^[1]

Below is a deep dive into the latest share price, full‑year results, AI strategy, capital returns and what analysts now expect from Sage stock over the next 12 months.

Sage share price snapshot on 3 December 2025

At the close on 3 December 2025, Sage Group plc (ticker: LON: SGE) changed hands at 1,063.50p, up a negligible 0.05% on the day. The stock traded between 1,061.5p and 1,070.5p during the session. ^[2]

Key valuation metrics at this level: ^[3]

Market capitalisation: ~£10.1 billion
Trailing P/E ratio: ~24.6x, based on adjusted EPS of 43.2p for FY25
Dividend yield: ~2.0–2.1% on a total FY25 dividend of 21.85p
52‑week range: roughly 1,034.5p – 1,349.0p
Performance: up about 19% over one year and nearly 84% over five years

That combination – steady share price gains, mid‑20s earnings multiple and a modest but growing yield – reflects how the market currently treats Sage: a quality, recurring‑revenue compounder rather than a speculative high‑growth tech name.

Full-year 2025 results: double‑digit growth and higher margins

Sage published its Full Year 2025 results (year ended 30 September 2025) on 19 November, delivering another year of broad‑based growth and margin expansion. ^[4]

Headline numbers (on an underlying basis):

Underlying total revenue: £2,513m (FY24: £2,290m), +10%, with organic growth of 9%
Underlying operating profit: £600m (FY24: £513m), +17%
Underlying operating margin:23.9%, up 150 basis points from 22.4%
Annualised recurring revenue (ARR): £2,574m, up 11% year‑on‑year
Underlying basic EPS: 43.2p, up 18%; statutory basic EPS also rose 18% to 37.7p

The company continues to shift its mix toward subscription and cloud solutions:

Sage Business Cloud revenue: £2,083m, up 13%
Cloud‑native revenue: £885m, up 23%
Subscription penetration: 83% of revenue (up from 82%)

Management also reaffirmed a confident outlook, guiding for organic total revenue growth of 9% or above in FY26, with operating margins expected to “continue trending upwards” beyond 2026. ^[5]

That combination – recurring revenue growth, expanding margins and strong cash conversion (110% in FY25) – underpins Sage’s ability to fund both investment in AI and generous returns to shareholders. ^[6]

AI and cloud strategy: Sage Copilot and the platform push

Sage’s latest Strategic Report 2025 makes clear that AI is no longer a side‑project but sits at the centre of the group’s product roadmap. ^[7]

A few key points:

Sage Platform is the company’s common cloud infrastructure, designed to roll out innovations like Sage Copilot and AI agents across products such as Sage Accounting, Sage Active, Sage 50, Sage Intacct and Sage X3.
Sage Copilot, an AI‑powered assistant embedded in workflows, is already being used to:
- Automate invoicing, payments and reporting for small businesses
- Accelerate month‑end close and reconciliations for mid‑market finance teams
- Surface real‑time operational signals (e.g. fulfilment issues, churn risk, inventory delays) for larger customers ^[8]
The company reports that customers using these tools save hours per week on admin and shorten payment cycles, which strengthens the value proposition of Sage’s software. ^[9]

Externally, Sage’s execution is being recognised: Sage Intacct again ranked first for customer satisfaction in G2’s Fall 2025 accounting software report, while Sage was named Best Software Company in the UK and placed in the top 25 globally, based on user reviews. ^[10]

Strategically, this positions Sage as an AI‑enabled platform for small and mid‑sized businesses (SMBs), competing with the likes of Intuit, Xero and Microsoft’s Dynamics suite but with a particular strength in mid‑market finance and ERP.

£300m share buyback: heavy daily repurchases

Alongside its full‑year results, Sage announced a share buyback programme of up to £300 million, approved on 18 November 2025 and launched on 19 November. The programme is scheduled to run until no later than 19 March 2026 and is being executed via non‑discretionary arrangements with J.P. Morgan Securities plc and Morgan Stanley. ^[11]

Since then, the company has been buying back stock almost every trading day:

26 November 2025: 715,428 shares repurchased under the programme ^[12]
28 November 2025: further purchases disclosed via London Stock Exchange RNS ^[13]
1 December 2025: 826,726 shares bought between 1,060.5p and 1,076.5p, volume‑weighted average around 1,065.3p ^[14]
2 December 2025: 768,007 shares repurchased at prices around 1,062–1,074p, again via J.P. Morgan ^[15]

A TipRanks news brief on 3 December highlights the buyback as a key plank of Sage’s capital return strategy, with all repurchased shares set to be cancelled to reduce the share count. ^[16]

At current prices around 1,063–1,070p, a £300m buyback equates roughly to 3% of Sage’s market capitalisation, a meaningful tailwind for earnings per share over the next few years if executed in full.

Dividend hike and income profile

Sage is also returning more cash via dividends:

The board has proposed a final dividend of 14.4p per share for FY25. ^[17]
Combined with the interim dividend of 7.45p paid in June 2025, that takes the total FY25 dividend to 21.85p, up 7% year‑on‑year. ^[18]
The final dividend is scheduled to go ex‑dividend on 8 January 2026, with payment on 10 February 2026. ^[19]

At the 3 December closing price of 1,063.5p, that implies a trailing dividend yield of just over 2%. ^[20]

The payout has grown from 17.68p in FY21 to 21.85p in FY25, a compound annual growth rate of roughly 5–6%, while dividend cover remains close to two times earnings – suggesting scope for continued high‑single‑digit increases so long as earnings keep pace. ^[21]

Recent commentary from income‑focused outlets notes that the new 14.4p final dividend lifts Sage’s yield slightly above the software sector average, albeit still below high‑yielding FTSE 100 names in more cyclical industries. ^[22]

How the market is valuing Sage today

Putting the results and capital returns together, Sage’s current valuation looks like this: ^[23]

Share price (3 Dec 2025): 1,063.5p
Adjusted EPS (FY25): 43.2p
Trailing P/E: ~24.6x
PEG ratio: ~1.4, given high‑teens EPS growth
Dividend yield: ~2.0%
Net debt / underlying EBITDA: 1.7x, with about £1.0bn of cash and available liquidity

A mid‑20s earnings multiple for high‑single‑digit to low‑double‑digit revenue growth and recurring revenue above 95% is not unusual in the software world, but it does leave less room for disappointment if growth slows or macro conditions deteriorate.

Analyst ratings and 12‑month price targets

Across major data providers, analyst forecasts for Sage Group plc cluster tightly – but not perfectly – around the 1,300–1,350p mark.

Financial Times forecasts page (18 analysts): ^[24]

Median 12‑month target: 1,345p
Range: 1,050p (low) to 1,600p (high)
Implied upside: ~26.5% from a last price of 1,063.5p

Investing.com consensus (18 analysts): ^[25]

Average 12‑month target: 1,323p
Range: 1,050p – 1,600p
Implied upside: ~24.5%
Consensus rating: “Buy” (7 Buy, 10 Hold, 1 Sell)

TipRanks (13 analysts over the last three months): ^[26]

Consensus rating: Moderate Buy (5 Buy, 7 Hold, 1 Sell)
Average target: 1,319p
High / low: 1,500p / 1,050p
Implied upside: ~22.8% from ~1,074p reference price

MarketBeat Ratings (7 brokers): ^[27]

Consensus rating: Hold (4 Hold, 3 Buy)
Average price target: 1,300p
Implied upside: about 22% from ~1,062p

For US investors, a Nasdaq‑hosted note on OTC‑listed ADR SGGEF reports that Deutsche Bank recently reiterated a Hold rating with a $18.19 one‑year price target – roughly 27.7% above a closing price of $14.25 at the time of the report. ^[28]

A recent Yahoo Finance article points out that, while the Street remains constructive overall, the consensus price target has edged down from around £13.49 to £13.23 per share after some brokers trimmed their numbers post‑results. ^[29]

Taken together, the message from analysts is fairly consistent:

Fundamentals (growth, margins, cash generation) are strong
AI and cloud transition are viewed positively
The stock is modestly undervalued versus target prices, but not dramatically so
Many brokers see Sage as a “quality compounder” where returns will likely mirror mid‑teens earnings and dividend growth rather than explosive multiple expansion

Key risks and what to watch next

Despite the supportive backdrop, there are several watchpoints for investors following Sage Group stock:

Valuation risk
With a trailing P/E in the mid‑20s and a PEG around 1.4, the shares already discount a good degree of continued growth and margin expansion. Any slowdown in ARR growth or pressure on margins could compress the multiple. ^[30]
Execution on AI and product integration
Sage is investing heavily in AI (Sage Copilot, AI agents) and platform integration. Those investments have to translate into sustained customer adoption and pricing power, especially in competitive SMB markets where switching costs are real but not insurmountable. ^[31]
Competitive landscape
Rivals such as Intuit, Xero and larger enterprise vendors continue to push into Sage’s core territories. Sustaining G2‑level customer satisfaction and product differentiation will be crucial to defending market share. ^[32]
Macro and SMB health
Sage’s clients are predominantly small and mid‑sized businesses. A sharper‑than‑expected downturn in the UK, Europe or North America could hit new customer acquisition and upsell opportunities, even if recurring revenue proves resilient. ^[33]
Buyback pacing and capital allocation
A £300m buyback at current prices looks attractive if growth and margins remain on track; less so if the macro picture worsens or if Sage identifies better uses for capital (e.g. acquisitions such as Fyle and Criterion). Monitoring the pace of repurchases and any further M&A will be important. ^[34]

Outlook: steady compounder with AI‑driven upside

As of 3 December 2025, Sage Group plc offers a fairly clear investment story:

Operationally, it is delivering high‑single‑digit to low‑double‑digit revenue growth, margin expansion and strong cash conversion, underpinned by a predominantly recurring SaaS and subscription base. ^[35]
Strategically, it is leaning into AI and cloud, with Sage Copilot and platform‑wide AI agents giving it credible innovation credentials in the finance and ERP space. ^[36]
For shareholders, the combination of a growing ~2% dividend and a sizeable £300m buyback provides a tangible capital return stream on top of any earnings growth and multiple movements. ^[37]
On valuation, the stock trades below most 12‑month analyst targets, with consensus upside in the 20–25% range – but from a starting point that already reflects its quality and resilience. ^[38]

For readers tracking Sage Group plc stock for 2026 and beyond, the key questions are whether AI‑enabled products can sustain double‑digit ARR growth, whether margins can keep grinding higher, and whether the buyback continues at current intensity. Those themes will likely determine whether Sage behaves as a steady compounding software name – or surprises on the upside.