VeriSign, Inc. (VRSN) To Go Ex-Dividend on November 17th

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, October 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share by the information services provider on Tuesday, November 24th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 17th.

VeriSign has a dividend payout ratio of 34.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect VeriSign to earn $10.83 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.9%.

VeriSign Trading Up 0.2%

VeriSign stock traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $313.02. The stock had a trading volume of 699,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,082,683. VeriSign has a 52-week low of $208.86 and a 52-week high of $324.63. The company has a market capitalization of $28.08 billion, a PE ratio of 33.66 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $300.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $274.48.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The information services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.46 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $443.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $440.58 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.06% and a negative return on equity of 38.40%. VeriSign’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.27 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that VeriSign will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on VeriSign from $308.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on VeriSign from $351.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Zacks Research lowered VeriSign from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Citigroup increased their target price on VeriSign from $325.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $380.00 target price on VeriSign in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $352.00.

VeriSign Company Profile

VeriSign, Inc. operates critical internet infrastructure, best known for managing the domain-name registries for .com and .net. It provides the systems that allow domain names in these extensions to be registered and resolved through the Domain Name System, working with registrars that serve businesses and individuals. The company also provides registry services for other domain extensions and supports the security and stability of the internet’s naming infrastructure. Its services are used globally through a network of registrars and other internet service providers.