Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Downgraded by Morgan Stanley to "Equal Weight"

Morgan Stanley cut shares of Ford Motor (NYSE:F - Free Report) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $12.00 target price on the auto manufacturer's stock, down from their previous target price of $16.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ford Motor to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Ford Motor from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Ford Motor from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a hold rating and set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Ford Motor in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Ford Motor in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They set a peer perform rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $12.64.

Ford Motor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:F traded down $0.45 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $10.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 74,023,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,026,777. The company has a 50-day moving average of $11.09 and a 200-day moving average of $12.02. Ford Motor has a 12 month low of $9.49 and a 12 month high of $14.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $41.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.62.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $47.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $47.79 billion. Ford Motor had a return on equity of 15.28% and a net margin of 2.13%. The company's revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ford Motor will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Ford Motor Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.76%. Ford Motor's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ford Motor

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ford Motor in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ford Motor by 1,997.9% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,035 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,938 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ford Motor in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Ford Motor in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ford Motor by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 2,172 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,086 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.74% of the company's stock.

Ford Motor Company Profile

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.