VeriSign, Inc. (VRSN) To Go Ex-Dividend on February 19th

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of 0.81 per share by the information services provider on Friday, February 27th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This is a 5.2% increase from VeriSign’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77.

VeriSign has a payout ratio of 34.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VeriSign stock opened at $219.03 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $242.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $256.48. VeriSign has a 12 month low of $208.86 and a 12 month high of $310.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.86 and a beta of 0.75.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The information services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by ($0.06). VeriSign had a net margin of 49.84% and a negative return on equity of 40.40%. The business had revenue of $425.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on VRSN shares. Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on VeriSign in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of VeriSign from $337.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VeriSign from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of VeriSign from $270.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $292.00.

VeriSign Company Profile

VeriSign, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSN) is an internet infrastructure company that operates critical components of the global Domain Name System (DNS) and provides cybersecurity-related services. The company is best known as the authoritative registry operator for the .com and .net top-level domains, maintaining the central databases and zone files that enable domain name resolution for millions of websites. VeriSign’s registry role is performed under contractual agreements with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and involves high-availability, highly secure operations to support continuous internet connectivity.

In addition to its registry business, VeriSign offers a suite of services designed to protect and accelerate DNS and internet traffic for enterprises and service providers.