Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $39.50.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Juniper Networks from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Juniper Networks in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Juniper Networks in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Juniper Networks in a research report on Monday, September 16th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

Juniper Networks Stock Performance

JNPR stock opened at $37.31 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.59. Juniper Networks has a 12 month low of $28.81 and a 12 month high of $39.79. The company has a market capitalization of $12.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.09, a P/E/G ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Juniper Networks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. Juniper Networks’s dividend payout ratio is 115.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Juniper Networks

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oak Thistle LLC boosted its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 4.6% in the second quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 8,015 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 27,941 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,019,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Juniper Networks by 7.9% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,791 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the period. Keene & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 3.8% in the second quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. now owns 11,485 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Juniper Networks by 60.3% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,188 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 447 shares during the period. 91.95% of the stock is currently 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.