Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $4.79, but opened at $5.11. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) shares last traded at $5.01, with a volume of 13,036,546 shares trading hands.

The communications equipment provider reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) had a negative net margin of 9.82% and a positive return on equity of 11.77%.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th were issued a dividend of $0.1293 per share. This is an increase 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 payout ratio is presently -23.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on ERIC. UBS Group downgraded 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 research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Barclays cut shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.90.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC bought a new stake in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) during the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,000. NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 258.1% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 10,744 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 7,744 shares during the last quarter. 626 Financial LLC bought a new stake in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) during the 4th quarter worth approximately $72,000. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 13,457 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 3,201 shares during the last quarter. 7.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) Stock Up 1.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.75 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.34.

About Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)

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.