Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning.

ALV has been the subject of a number of other reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Autoliv from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Autoliv from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Autoliv from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $116.00 price objective on shares of Autoliv in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.77.

Autoliv Price Performance

NYSE:ALV opened at $98.61 on Wednesday. Autoliv has a 52 week low of $89.51 and a 52 week high of $129.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.37. The firm has a market cap of $7.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.59.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The auto parts company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. Autoliv had a return on equity of 30.85% and a net margin of 5.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Autoliv will post 8.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost from Autoliv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Autoliv’s payout ratio is 35.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Autoliv by 20.5% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,362,040 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $252,715,000 after acquiring an additional 402,426 shares during the last quarter. BDF Gestion bought a new stake in shares of Autoliv in the second quarter worth $1,284,000. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in Autoliv by 1,437.4% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 51,994 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $4,855,000 after purchasing an additional 48,612 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Autoliv by 35.8% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 272,793 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $29,186,000 after purchasing an additional 71,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Autoliv during the 2nd quarter worth about $236,000. Institutional investors own 69.57% of the company’s stock.

Autoliv Company Profile

Autoliv, Inc, through its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and supplies passive safety systems to the automotive industry in Europe, the Americas, China, Japan, and rest of Asia. It offers passive safety systems, including modules and components for frontal-impact airbag protection systems, side-impact airbag protection systems, seatbelts, steering wheels, and inflator technologies.