AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.05 EPS

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.05), Zacks reports. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 13.01%.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AZN opened at $71.99 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $223.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $67.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.64. AstraZeneca has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. AstraZeneca’s payout ratio is 43.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AZN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.75.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company’s marketed products include Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Lynparza, Calquence, Enhertu, Orpathys, Truqap, Zoladex, Faslodex, Farxiga, Brilinta, Lokelma, Roxadustat, Andexxa, Crestor, Seloken, Onglyza, Bydureon, Fasenra, Breztri, Symbicort, Saphnelo, Tezspire, Pulmicort, Bevespi, and Daliresp for cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, and oncology.