Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 44,581,262 shares, a decrease of 18.0% from the February 12th total of 54,396,440 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 6,044,948 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.4 days. Based on an average trading volume of 6,044,948 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.4 days. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ericsson

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in Ericsson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Ericsson by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 13,017 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,441 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ericsson during the 1st quarter valued at $126,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 1,518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its holdings 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Ericsson Price Performance

ERIC traded up $0.53 during trading on Monday, reaching $11.97. 14,129,042 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,714,819. The company’s 50-day moving average is $10.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.65. The company has a market cap of $40.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Ericsson has a 12-month low of $6.64 and a 12-month high of $12.05.

Ericsson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be given a $0.1663 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. Ericsson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.00%.

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.