Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $145.25.

NVO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S stock opened at $76.88 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $344.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.37, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.42. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 12 month low of $73.80 and a 12 month high of $148.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 34.81% and a return on equity of 84.68%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.7874 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Novo Nordisk A/S’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S’s payout ratio is currently 47.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novo Nordisk A/S

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. boosted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 72.4% in the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 2,727.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novo Nordisk A/S Company Profile

Novo Nordisk A/S, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research and development, manufacture, and distribution of pharmaceutical products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North America, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Diabetes and Obesity Care, and Rare Disease.