Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) Stock Has Average Price Target of $9.00

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $9.00.

A number of research firms have issued reports on ERIC. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ericsson in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Danske raised Ericsson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley cut Ericsson from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $9.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Ericsson from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th.

Ericsson Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ERIC opened at $9.29 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $31.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.96. Ericsson has a fifty-two week low of $8.12 and a fifty-two week high of $13.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $9.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.07.

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $5.43 billion during the quarter. Ericsson had a net margin of 10.72% and a return on equity of 20.63%. Analysts expect that Ericsson will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Ericsson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 29th were given a $0.1579 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 29th. Ericsson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ericsson

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new position in Ericsson during the 1st quarter worth approximately $493,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Ericsson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $429,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Ericsson by 8.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 160,581 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,810,000 after acquiring an additional 12,534 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Ericsson during the second quarter valued at approximately $15,812,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Ericsson by 60.5% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,645,672 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,881,000 after purchasing an additional 620,144 shares during the period. 7.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ericsson

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, commonly known as Ericsson, is a Swedish telecommunications and technology company that provides communications infrastructure, software, and related services to telecommunications operators and enterprises worldwide. The company was founded in 1876 by Lars Magnus Ericsson and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.

Ericsson’s offerings include mobile network equipment and services for 4G and 5G networks, radio access systems, core networks, transport solutions, and network management software.