Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) Receives $10.40 Average Price Target from Analysts

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) has been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $10.40.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ERIC. Argus raised shares of Ericsson to a “hold” rating in a research note 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. Wall Street Zen raised Ericsson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Ericsson in a research report on Monday, February 9th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $11.00 price target for the company.

Ericsson Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ERIC opened at $11.47 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $10.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.72. Ericsson has a fifty-two week low of $6.64 and a fifty-two week high of $12.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.67 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Ericsson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.1663 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. Ericsson’s payout ratio is 22.73%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ericsson

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ERIC. ABC Arbitrage SA boosted its position in Ericsson by 36.7% during the fourth quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA now owns 4,389,009 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $42,354,000 after acquiring an additional 1,179,194 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Ericsson by 42.9% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,350,029 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005,398 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Ericsson in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $17,461,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Ericsson by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,903,298 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $18,603,000 after purchasing an additional 304,974 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Defiance ETFs LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ericsson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,766,000. 7.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ericsson

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.