Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) Short Interest Update

Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,630,000 shares, a growth of 11.2% from the December 15th total of 11,360,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,600,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days. Approximately 3.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Juniper Networks Price Performance

JNPR stock traded down $0.38 during trading on Monday, hitting $38.47. 4,434,123 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,920,985. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.03. Juniper Networks has a 52 week low of $34.30 and a 52 week high of $39.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.61, a P/E/G ratio of 8.49 and a beta of 0.88.

Juniper Networks Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Juniper Networks’s payout ratio is currently 115.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Juniper Networks

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Juniper Networks by 60.3% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,188 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Juniper Networks by 71.4% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,546 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Juniper Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at $61,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 84.7% during the third quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 1,830 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Juniper Networks during the third quarter valued at $76,000. 91.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Juniper Networks in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Juniper Networks in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.25.

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.