Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the network equipment provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp reissued a sector weight rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a hold rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up previously from $35.00) on shares of Juniper Networks in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Juniper Networks from $31.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Juniper Networks from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Juniper Networks currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $34.55.

Juniper Networks Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNPR traded up $0.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $34.84. 2,407,019 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,231,198. The company has a market cap of $11.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.49, a PEG ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.98. Juniper Networks has a 1 year low of $24.87 and a 1 year high of $38.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $36.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The network equipment provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.01). Juniper Networks had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 4.19%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Juniper Networks will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Juniper Networks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. Juniper Networks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 127.54%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Rami Rahim sold 5,555 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.53, for a total transaction of $208,479.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,019,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,265,175.17. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, COO Manoj Leelanivas sold 98,530 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.00, for a total transaction of $3,645,610.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 73,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,726,308. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Rami Rahim sold 5,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.53, for a total value of $208,479.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,019,589 shares in the company, valued at $38,265,175.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 227,412 shares of company stock worth $8,392,730. 1.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Juniper Networks

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Juniper Networks by 12.3% during the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 27,839 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 3,060 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Juniper Networks during the first quarter valued at about $448,000. Chase Investment Counsel Corp boosted its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 12,961 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the period. Fifth Lane Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Juniper Networks in the 1st quarter valued at $741,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 31,488 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 3,214 shares during the period. 91.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.