Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Trading Up 0.3% – What’s Next?

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) shares rose 0.3% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $9.33 and last traded at $9.32. Approximately 14,483,355 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 75,421,695 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.29.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

F has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Ford Motor from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Ford Motor from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $12.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Barclays downgraded shares of Ford Motor from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $13.00 to $11.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ford Motor currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.89.

Ford Motor Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.45. The stock has a market cap of $37.00 billion, a PE ratio of 6.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.04. Ford Motor had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 3.18%. Equities analysts predict that Ford Motor will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ford Motor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.43%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Ford Motor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ford Motor

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 29.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,464,980 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $15,998,000 after acquiring an additional 336,720 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Ford Motor by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,394,681 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $46,408,000 after purchasing an additional 160,409 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ford Motor during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,456,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new position in shares of Ford Motor in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $10,853,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 455,671 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $4,511,000 after buying an additional 49,844 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.74% of the company’s stock.

About Ford Motor

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.