Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Trading 1.2% Higher – Here’s Why

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) rose 1.2% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $10.17 and last traded at $10.14. Approximately 15,234,083 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 58,462,984 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.01.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Ford Motor in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Ford Motor from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $11.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Ford Motor from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $16.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Ford Motor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $12.00 to $13.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.83.

Ford Motor Stock Up 1.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $40.43 billion, a PE ratio of 11.56, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.64. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $46.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.13 billion. Ford Motor had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 16.16%. Ford Motor’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ford Motor will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ford Motor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.90%. Ford Motor’s payout ratio is currently 68.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ford Motor

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Ford Motor by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,464,980 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $15,998,000 after purchasing an additional 336,720 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,394,681 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $46,408,000 after buying an additional 160,409 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ford Motor in the third quarter worth $55,456,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in Ford Motor during the fourth quarter valued at $10,853,000. Finally, ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in Ford Motor by 93.4% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,181,128 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $12,473,000 after acquiring an additional 570,293 shares during the period. 58.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.