Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on ALV. Barclays raised their price target on Autoliv from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Autoliv from $117.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Autoliv from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Autoliv from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Autoliv from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Autoliv presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $128.22.

Autoliv Price Performance

Shares of Autoliv stock opened at $125.73 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $120.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.97. Autoliv has a 12-month low of $79.66 and a 12-month high of $127.21. The firm has a market cap of $10.23 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The auto parts company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.18. Autoliv had a net margin of 5.10% and a return on equity of 29.84%. The company had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.57 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Autoliv will post 9.82 EPS for the current year.

Autoliv Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Autoliv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Autoliv

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Autoliv by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,264,937 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $507,961,000 after purchasing an additional 459,147 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Autoliv by 6.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,136,224 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $206,103,000 after buying an additional 133,746 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Autoliv in the first quarter worth approximately $235,996,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 958,304 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $105,596,000 after buying an additional 278,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD increased its position in shares of Autoliv by 20.5% during the first quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 952,555 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $114,716,000 after acquiring an additional 162,319 shares in the last quarter. 69.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Autoliv Company Profile

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.