Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) Sets New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• 52-week high: Ericsson shares hit a new 52-week high of $11.70 (last trade $11.5150) and the company has a market cap of about $39.1 billion with 50/200-day moving averages of $10.54 and $9.56.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed — one Buy, eight Hold and two Sell produce a MarketBeat consensus of "Reduce" and an average target price of $10.40, despite recent upgrades and coverage starts from firms like Wall Street Zen and Morgan Stanley.
• Fundamentals show modest leverage and shareholder returns: debt-to-equity 0.26, P/E 13.1, PEG 1.94, and a recently paid $0.1663 dividend (payout ratio 22.73%).

Shares of Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $11.70 and last traded at $11.5150, with a volume of 3569758 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.34.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ERIC. Argus raised Ericsson to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ericsson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ericsson in a report on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Ericsson in a research report on Monday, February 9th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $11.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Ericsson in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $10.40.

Ericsson Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $10.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.56. The company has a market capitalization of $39.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.92.

Ericsson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were issued a $0.1663 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. Ericsson's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in Ericsson in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Ericsson by 12.4% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 13,017 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 1,441 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Ericsson during the first quarter worth approximately $126,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ericsson by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 16,324 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $158,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518 shares during the period. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its position in shares of Ericsson by 57.2% in the second quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 20,485 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 7,452 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 7.99% of the company's stock.

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.

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