StockNews.com Downgrades Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Autoliv in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Autoliv from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Barclays dropped their target price on Autoliv from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Autoliv from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $116.00 price target on shares of Autoliv in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $122.46.

Autoliv Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE ALV traded up $1.55 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $93.69. 328,591 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 703,536. The company has a market cap of $7.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $96.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.36. Autoliv has a 52 week low of $89.51 and a 52 week high of $129.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The auto parts company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. Autoliv had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 30.85%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Autoliv will post 8.19 EPS for the current year.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. This is a boost from Autoliv's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Autoliv's dividend payout ratio is 36.46%.

Institutional Trading of Autoliv

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALV. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Autoliv by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 954 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Autoliv by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 23,456 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $2,190,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in Autoliv by 2.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,953 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $851,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Autoliv by 2.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,765 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $617,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Autoliv by 1.2% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 16,606 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,777,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. 69.57% of the stock is currently 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.