Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Ericsson currently has a consensus analyst rating of "Hold", based on coverage from nine analysts. The average 12-month price target is $11.00.
• The stock was down 1.8% and opened at $9.89, below both its 50-day moving average of $11.98 and 200-day moving average of $11.34.
• In its latest earnings report, Ericsson matched EPS expectations at $0.13 per share, but revenue of $5.43 billion came in below analysts’ expectations. The company also reported a net margin of 10.72% and return on equity of 20.67%.

Shares of Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the nine analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $11.00.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ericsson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Danske upgraded Ericsson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Ericsson in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ericsson in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd.

Ericsson Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:ERIC opened at $9.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company's 50-day moving average price is $11.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.34. The company has a market cap of $33.34 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.93. Ericsson has a fifty-two week low of $7.16 and a fifty-two week high of $13.77.

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.13. Ericsson had a net margin of 10.72% and a return on equity of 20.67%. The firm had revenue of $5.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.66 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ericsson will post 0.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ericsson

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Defiance ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ericsson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,766,000. ABC Arbitrage SA increased its stake in shares of Ericsson by 36.7% during the fourth quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA now owns 4,389,009 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $42,354,000 after acquiring an additional 1,179,194 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Ericsson by 42.9% during the second 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 period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Ericsson by 229.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,252,437 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $12,086,000 after purchasing an additional 872,065 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Ericsson by 197.2% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,242,381 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $10,534,000 after purchasing an additional 824,287 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.99% of the company's stock.

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.

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