Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $39.50.

JNPR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Juniper Networks from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Juniper Networks in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Juniper Networks in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Juniper Networks in a report on Monday, September 16th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

Juniper Networks Stock Performance

Juniper Networks stock opened at $38.53 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $38.88 and a 200-day moving average of $37.36. The stock has a market cap of $12.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.28 and a beta of 0.93. Juniper Networks has a 52 week low of $25.83 and a 52 week high of $39.79.

Juniper Networks Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Juniper Networks’s payout ratio is 115.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Juniper Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JNPR. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Juniper Networks by 2,069.4% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 781 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 745 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Juniper Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Juniper Networks during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Juniper Networks by 60.3% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,188 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in Juniper Networks by 71.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,546 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.95% of the company’s stock.

Juniper Networks Company Profile

Juniper Networks, Inc designs, develops, and sells network products and services worldwide. The company offers routing products, such as ACX series universal access routers to deploy high-bandwidth services; MX series Ethernet routers that function as a universal edge platform; PTX series packet transport routers; wide-area network SDN controllers; and session smart routers.