Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Shares Down 0.3% – What’s Next?

Ford Motor (NYSE:F)’s stock price was down 0.3% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $9.59 and last traded at $9.71. Approximately 24,748,966 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 58,664,402 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on F. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Ford Motor from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $12.00 to $9.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays lowered their price target on Ford Motor from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Ford Motor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $12.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley downgraded Ford Motor from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Ford Motor in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.83.

Ford Motor Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $10.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.04.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.02. Ford Motor had a return on equity of 16.16% and a net margin of 1.93%. The company had revenue of $46.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.39 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Ford Motor will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Ford Motor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.15%. Ford Motor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ford Motor

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Ford Motor by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 122,609,058 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,294,752,000 after purchasing an additional 5,270,562 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ford Motor by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 81,989,157 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $863,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,336,676 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Ford Motor by 27.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 36,190,972 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $453,732,000 after purchasing an additional 7,793,944 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Ford Motor by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 31,823,353 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $399,066,000 after purchasing an additional 318,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Ford Motor by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 24,347,303 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $257,108,000 after buying an additional 636,330 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.74% of the company’s stock.

About Ford Motor

Ford Motor Company develops, delivers, and services a range of Ford trucks, commercial cars and vans, sport utility vehicles, and Lincoln luxury vehicles worldwide. It operates through Ford Blue, Ford Model e, and Ford Pro; Ford Next; and Ford Credit segments. The company sells Ford and Lincoln vehicles, service parts, and accessories through distributors and dealers, as well as through dealerships to commercial fleet customers, daily rental car companies, and governments.