Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

12 Apr 2024, 05:50 by Amy Steele · The Cerbat Gem

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR – Free Report) in a research report released on Tuesday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the network equipment provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on JNPR. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Juniper Networks from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a hold rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. KeyCorp reissued a sector weight rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a hold rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up previously from $35.00) on shares of Juniper Networks in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on shares of Juniper Networks from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $34.27.

Check Out Our Latest Report on JNPR

Juniper Networks Stock Down 0.1 %

JNPR opened at $36.92 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $11.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.86, a PEG ratio of 7.60 and a beta of 0.98. Juniper Networks has a twelve month low of $24.87 and a twelve month high of $38.04. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $37.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.13.

Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The network equipment provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. Juniper Networks had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 11.72%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Juniper Networks will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Juniper Networks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Juniper Networks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Juniper Networks news, COO Manoj Leelanivas sold 98,530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.00, for a total value of $3,645,610.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 73,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,726,308. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Juniper Networks news, COO Manoj Leelanivas sold 98,530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.00, for a total value of $3,645,610.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 73,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,726,308. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Rami Rahim sold 5,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.06, for a total transaction of $205,868.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,003,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,187,078.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 216,302 shares of company stock valued at $8,005,602 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Juniper Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,126,775 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,212,417,000 after purchasing an additional 137,652 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 34,426,578 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,184,963,000 after purchasing an additional 2,776,885 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,412,994 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $514,219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,613,651 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 13,230,251 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $390,028,000 after purchasing an additional 495,037 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,719,498 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $214,755,000 after purchasing an additional 344,059 shares during the period. 91.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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