AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN – Get Rating) is set to announce its earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, April 27th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.84 per share for the quarter.
AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $11.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.40 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 7.42% and a return on equity of 28.63%. On average, analysts expect AstraZeneca to post $4 EPS for the current fiscal year and $4 EPS for the next fiscal year.
AstraZeneca Stock Performance
Shares of AZN stock opened at $74.84 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $231.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.52. AstraZeneca has a 52 week low of $52.65 and a 52 week high of $75.83. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $67.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.86.
AstraZeneca Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.985 per share. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.47. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 23rd. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 180.38%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AZN shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of AstraZeneca from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 11th. Berenberg Bank raised their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from GBX 118 ($1.46) to GBX 126 ($1.56) in a research note on Wednesday, January 18th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Thursday, January 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AstraZeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.00.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca during the first quarter worth about $252,000. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at $244,000. Bridgefront Capital LLC purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at $244,000. Aureus Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at $228,000. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at $210,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.42% of the company’s stock.
About AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca Plc is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company was founded on June 17, 1992 and is headquartered in Cambridge, the United Kingdom.