Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 44,581,262 shares, a drop of 18.0% from the February 12th total of 54,396,440 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,044,948 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.4 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,044,948 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.4 days. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ERIC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Ericsson in a research note on Monday, February 9th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $11.00 target price on the stock. Argus upgraded Ericsson to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ericsson in a report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ericsson in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ericsson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $10.40.

Institutional Trading of Ericsson

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ERIC. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in Ericsson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Ericsson by 12.4% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 13,017 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,441 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ericsson during the first quarter worth approximately $126,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ericsson by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 16,324 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ericsson by 57.2% in the 2nd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 20,485 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $174,000 after acquiring an additional 7,452 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 7.99% of the company’s stock.

Ericsson Price Performance

ERIC traded up $0.53 during trading on Monday, reaching $11.97. The stock had a trading volume of 14,129,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,714,819. The business has a 50-day moving average of $10.68 and a 200-day moving average of $9.65. Ericsson has a one year low of $6.64 and a one year high of $12.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $40.35 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.93.

Ericsson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.1663 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. Ericsson’s dividend payout ratio is 25.00%.

Ericsson Company Profile

Ericsson AB is a Swedish multinational telecommunications equipment and services company headquartered in Stockholm. Founded in 1876 by Lars Magnus Ericsson, the company designs, develops and sells infrastructure, software and services that enable mobile and fixed-line networks worldwide. Ericsson serves a global customer base that includes mobile network operators, enterprise customers and public-sector organizations across Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.

The company’s core activities center on building and modernizing network infrastructure, with a particular focus on radio access networks (RAN), core network software, cloud-native solutions and network management systems.