Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) Lifted to “Outperform” at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note released on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. Wolfe Research currently has $133.00 price target on the auto parts company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on ALV. Mizuho increased their price objective on Autoliv from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Autoliv from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Autoliv in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. They issued a neutral rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Autoliv from $128.00 to $122.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Autoliv from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $129.27.

Autoliv Price Performance

ALV stock opened at $108.96 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.61. The business’s 50-day moving average is $117.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.71. Autoliv has a 1 year low of $89.37 and a 1 year high of $129.38.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The auto parts company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.57 billion. Autoliv had a return on equity of 29.84% and a net margin of 5.10%. Analysts anticipate that Autoliv will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. Autoliv’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Autoliv news, Director Jan Carlson sold 1,900 shares of Autoliv stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.75, for a total value of $240,825.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 77,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,822,237.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Autoliv by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,136,224 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $206,103,000 after purchasing an additional 133,746 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Autoliv in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $235,996,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 958,304 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $105,596,000 after buying an additional 278,800 shares during the period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lifted its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 952,555 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $114,716,000 after buying an additional 162,319 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Autoliv in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $91,065,000. 69.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Autoliv

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.