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

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 Price Performance

Shares of AZN stock opened at $71.99 on Friday. AstraZeneca has a fifty-two week low of $60.47 and a fifty-two week high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.85, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.64.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. This represents a yield of 2%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on AZN shares. UBS Group raised AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AstraZeneca currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

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.