Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Ericsson shares crossed above its 200-day moving average (200-day = $9.81), trading as high as $11.47 and last at $11.32 on volume of about 9.31 million shares.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed-to-negative with a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $10.40; recent actions include Wall Street Zen upgrading to strong-buy while Morgan Stanley initiated coverage at equal weight with an $11 target.
• The company recently paid a $0.1663 dividend (ex-dividend April 2) with a 22.7% payout ratio, and shows modest fundamentals — market cap ~$38.2B, PE ~12.9, PEG ~1.95 and debt-to-equity ~0.26.

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $9.81 and traded as high as $11.47. Ericsson shares last traded at $11.32, with a volume of 9,311,040 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Ericsson in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Ericsson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Argus upgraded Ericsson to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Ericsson in a research report on Monday, February 9th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $11.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ericsson in a research note on Friday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ericsson currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $10.40.

Ericsson Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $38.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.92.

Ericsson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were given a $0.1663 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. Ericsson's payout ratio is presently 22.73%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ericsson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. ABC Arbitrage SA boosted its stake in Ericsson by 36.7% in 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 in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position 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 worth $28,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005,398 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ericsson during the 2nd quarter valued at $17,461,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ericsson by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,903,298 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $18,603,000 after purchasing an additional 304,974 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Defiance ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ericsson in the 4th quarter worth $13,766,000. Hedge funds and other 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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