Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

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

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on ALV. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Autoliv from $119.00 to $108.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays cut their price target on Autoliv from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Autoliv from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Autoliv from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Autoliv to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Autoliv currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.77.

Autoliv Price Performance

Autoliv stock traded down $0.75 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $98.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 758,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 707,218. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $7.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.59. Autoliv has a 52 week low of $89.51 and a 52 week high of $129.38. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $95.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.49.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The auto parts company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. Autoliv had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 30.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Autoliv will post 8.22 EPS for the current year.

Autoliv Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Autoliv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.42%.

Institutional Trading of Autoliv

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Autoliv by 105.2% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,637 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 1,865 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Autoliv by 145.7% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 13,228 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 7,844 shares in the last quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Autoliv by 14.4% during the third quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc. now owns 80,897 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $7,553,000 after buying an additional 10,198 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its stake in shares of Autoliv by 24.2% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 68,848 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $6,428,000 after buying an additional 13,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Autoliv during the third quarter valued at about $359,000. 69.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.