VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.02, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $419.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.71 million. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 40.87%. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. VeriSign updated its FY 2025 guidance to EPS.

VeriSign Price Performance

Shares of VRSN stock opened at $250.58 on Friday. VeriSign has a 12 month low of $175.62 and a 12 month high of $310.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.90 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $274.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $274.39.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s payout ratio is currently 36.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other VeriSign news, CEO D James Bidzos sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.15, for a total value of $1,320,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 508,772 shares in the company, valued at $134,392,123.80. The trade was a 0.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,706 shares of company stock valued at $12,451,906. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VeriSign

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in VeriSign by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter valued at about $69,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of VeriSign by 202.3% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 396 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter valued at about $205,000. Finally, ICONIQ Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the 2nd quarter valued at about $231,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, VeriSign presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.50.

VeriSign declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information services provider to buy up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

VeriSign Company Profile

VeriSign, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides domain name registry services and internet infrastructure that enables internet navigation for various recognized domain names worldwide. The company enables the security, stability, and resiliency of internet infrastructure and services, including providing root zone maintainer services, operating two of thirteen internet root servers; and offering registration services and authoritative resolution for the .com and .net domains, which supports global e-commerce.