Short Interest in Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) Drops By 18.0%

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in 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. Based on an average trading volume of 6,044,948 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.4 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 6,044,948 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Ericsson Stock Performance

NASDAQ ERIC traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $11.91. The stock had a trading volume of 14,917,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,816,835. Ericsson has a 52-week low of $6.64 and a 52-week high of $12.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $10.73 and a 200 day moving average of $9.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $40.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.92.

Ericsson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.1663 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. Ericsson’s dividend payout ratio is 22.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ERIC. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in Ericsson during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Ericsson by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 13,017 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $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 about $126,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 1,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ericsson by 57.2% in the 2nd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 20,485 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 7,452 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.99% of the company’s stock.

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.