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

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

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on ALV. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Autoliv from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Autoliv from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Autoliv in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Autoliv in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on Autoliv from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.46.

Autoliv Price Performance

Autoliv stock opened at $91.51 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $7.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $97.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.43. Autoliv has a 1 year low of $89.51 and a 1 year high of $129.38.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The auto parts company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. Autoliv had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 30.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Autoliv will post 8.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. This is a boost from Autoliv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. Autoliv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Autoliv

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALV. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Autoliv in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,684,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Autoliv during the third quarter worth $609,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 226.6% during the third quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 19,842 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,852,000 after buying an additional 13,766 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Autoliv by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 987,375 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $92,221,000 after acquiring an additional 95,888 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in Autoliv by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 30,216 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,821,000 after acquiring an additional 8,859 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.57% of the company’s stock.

About Autoliv

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.