Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Trading Up 0.6% – Still a Buy?

Ford Motor (NYSE:F)’s stock price was up 0.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $9.53 and last traded at $9.53. Approximately 22,522,278 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 74,150,336 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on F shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Ford Motor from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $11.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Ford Motor in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Ford Motor from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $12.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ford Motor presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.89.

Ford Motor Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $9.77 and its 200-day moving average is $10.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.83 billion, a PE ratio of 6.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.04. Ford Motor had a net margin of 3.18% and a return on equity of 16.88%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ford Motor will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ford Motor Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Ford Motor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ford Motor

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in F. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ford Motor by 1.1% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 92,950 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $982,000 after buying an additional 969 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Ford Motor by 6.6% during the third quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 16,096 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 990 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT increased its position in Ford Motor by 38.5% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 3,600 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Ford Motor by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,693 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Ford Motor by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 80,728 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $799,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. 58.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.