StockNews.com Downgrades Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) to Hold

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $116.00 price target on shares of Autoliv in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Autoliv from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays lowered their target price on Autoliv from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Autoliv from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Autoliv from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.77.

Autoliv Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of ALV traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $98.61. 489,109 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 705,418. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $7.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.59. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $95.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.37. Autoliv has a 12 month low of $89.51 and a 12 month high of $129.38.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Autoliv

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Autoliv by 20.5% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,362,040 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $252,715,000 after acquiring an additional 402,426 shares during the period. Lind Value II ApS acquired a new position in shares of Autoliv in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,818,000. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Autoliv by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,504,605 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $607,335,000 after acquiring an additional 376,665 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Autoliv by 130.2% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 498,575 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $53,111,000 after acquiring an additional 281,956 shares during the period. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD increased its position in shares of Autoliv by 21.8% in the 2nd quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 1,160,076 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $117,330,000 after acquiring an additional 207,521 shares during the period. 69.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.