Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) Upgraded at Daiwa America

Daiwa America upgraded shares of Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

ALV has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Autoliv from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $116.00 price target on shares of Autoliv in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com lowered Autoliv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Autoliv from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Bank of America reduced 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.50.

Autoliv Stock Performance

Autoliv stock opened at $93.43 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.59. Autoliv has a 12 month low of $89.51 and a 12 month high of $129.38. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $96.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

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

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. This is a positive change from Autoliv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. Autoliv’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Autoliv

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Autoliv by 133.5% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 362 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC acquired a new position in Autoliv in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Autoliv by 2,115.5% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 2,179 shares during the period. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Autoliv in the third quarter valued at $222,000. 69.57% of the stock is owned by 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.