Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

Several other research firms also recently commented on ERIC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) from $5.81 to $5.58 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group cut shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. TheStreet upgraded shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Barclays cut shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $5.58.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) Price Performance

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) stock opened at $5.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson has a one year low of $4.33 and a one year high of $6.36. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $5.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.35.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 22nd. The communications equipment provider reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.04 billion. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) had a negative net margin of 9.75% and a positive return on equity of 11.93%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.20 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th were issued a dividend of $0.1293 per share. This is a boost from Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)’s previous dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 4th. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)’s dividend payout ratio is -24.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ERIC. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC lifted its stake in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 2,162.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 33,870 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $194,000 after buying an additional 32,373 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC lifted its stake in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 202.2% in the fourth quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 49,881 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 33,376 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 235,231 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,374,000 after buying an additional 21,523 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 31.2% in the third quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 13,457 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 3,201 shares during the period. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its stake in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 24,086 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 4,351 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 7.99% of the company’s stock.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) Company Profile

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ), together with its subsidiaries, provides mobile connectivity solutions for telcom operators and enterprise customers in various sectors in North America, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, North East Asia, South East Asia, Oceania, and India. It operates in four segments: Networks; Cloud Software and Services; Enterprise; and Other.