Nokia (NYSE:NOK) Stock Price Up 9.1% – Time to Buy?

Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) shares shot up 9.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $15.78 and last traded at $15.4670. 126,246,150 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 83% from the average session volume of 69,164,242 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.18.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on NOK. Nordea Equity Research raised Nokia from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Danske cut Nokia from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Citigroup restated a “sell” rating on shares of Nokia in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Northland Securities set a $13.00 target price on Nokia in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Nokia in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $9.71.

Nokia Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.67, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $10.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.06.

Nokia (NYSE:NOK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The technology company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter. Nokia had a return on equity of 9.22% and a net margin of 4.02%.The firm had revenue of $5.21 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Nokia Corporation will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Nokia Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 28th were paid a $0.0468 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a $0.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Nokia’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. Nokia’s dividend payout ratio is 81.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Nokia by 248.7% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,815 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,721 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Nokia by 33,457.1% in the 4th quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,698 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 4,684 shares in the last quarter. Dorato Capital Management purchased a new position in Nokia in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Smithfield Trust Co purchased a new position in Nokia in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP purchased a new position in Nokia in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. 5.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nokia Company Profile

Nokia Corporation, headquartered in Espoo, Finland, is a global telecommunications and technology company with roots dating back to 1865. Over its long history the company moved from forestry and cable operations into electronics and telecommunications, becoming widely known in the 1990s and 2000s for its mobile phones. In recent years Nokia refocused its business toward network infrastructure, software and technology licensing, and research and development, following the divestiture of its handset manufacturing business and the acquisition of Alcatel‑Lucent in 2016, which brought Bell Labs into its portfolio.

Today Nokia’s core activities center on designing, building and supporting communications networks and related software.