Aptiv PLC (NYSE:APTV) Short Interest Down 13.7% in February

Aptiv PLC (NYSE:APTV) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 10,100,000 shares, a decline of 13.7% from the February 13th total of 11,700,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,630,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days. Currently, 4.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on APTV shares. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Aptiv in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Aptiv from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Robert W. Baird raised Aptiv from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Aptiv in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Aptiv in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.61.

Insider Transactions at Aptiv

In other Aptiv news, SVP Benjamin Lyon sold 14,568 shares of Aptiv stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.50, for a total value of $954,204.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 125,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,203,023.50. The trade was a 10.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APTV. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Aptiv by 1,410.3% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 438 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in Aptiv in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Aptiv in the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its holdings in Aptiv by 356.3% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 867 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 677 shares during the period. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aptiv during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,000. 94.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aptiv Stock Performance

APTV opened at $62.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.08, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.78. Aptiv has a 1-year low of $51.47 and a 1-year high of $85.56. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Aptiv (NYSE:APTV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The auto parts company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.12. Aptiv had a return on equity of 15.63% and a net margin of 9.07%. Equities analysts forecast that Aptiv will post 7.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Aptiv

Aptiv PLC engages in design, manufacture, and sale of vehicle components in North America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, South America, and internationally. The company provides electrical, electronic, and safety technology solutions to the automotive and commercial vehicle markets. It operates through two segments, Signal and Power Solutions, and Advanced Safety and User Experience.