StockNews.com Downgrades Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) to Buy

StockNews.com cut shares of Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Monday morning.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on JNPR. Barclays boosted their target price on Juniper Networks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Argus downgraded shares of Juniper Networks from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Juniper Networks from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.80.

Juniper Networks Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:JNPR traded up $0.01 during trading on Monday, hitting $36.02. 384,893 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,178,104. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $37.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.75. Juniper Networks has a 1-year low of $33.72 and a 1-year high of $39.79. The firm has a market cap of $12.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.88, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The network equipment provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.13). Juniper Networks had a net margin of 5.67% and a return on equity of 7.57%. Equities analysts predict that Juniper Networks will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Juniper Networks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Juniper Networks's dividend payout ratio is currently 102.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Juniper Networks news, COO Manoj Leelanivas sold 30,978 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.02, for a total value of $1,115,827.56. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 94,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,413,651.42. The trade was a 24.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Juniper Networks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Juniper Networks by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,413 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $652,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Juniper Networks by 47.8% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Juniper Networks by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Juniper Networks by 60.3% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,188 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC grew its holdings in Juniper Networks by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 8,420 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 513 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.