Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Shares Up 2.1% – Still a Buy?

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) rose 2.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $12.01 and last traded at $11.7650. Approximately 44,405,663 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 69,102,391 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ford Motor from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ford Motor from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Evercore increased their price target on Ford Motor from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Ford Motor from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.29.

Ford Motor Stock Up 2.1%

The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95. The stock has a market cap of $46.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.71, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.65. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $13.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.94.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.07. Ford Motor had a negative net margin of 4.37% and a positive return on equity of 10.16%. The company had revenue of $45.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Ford Motor Company will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Ford Motor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Ford Motor’s payout ratio is presently -29.13%.

Insider Activity at Ford Motor

In related news, insider William Clay Ford, Jr. bought 140,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.82 per share, with a total value of $1,934,800.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 3,912,600 shares in the company, valued at $54,072,132. This trade represents a 3.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ford Motor

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ford Motor in the fourth quarter worth about $674,437,000. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Ford Motor during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $299,000,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Ford Motor by 712.7% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 19,572,437 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $212,361,000 after acquiring an additional 17,164,234 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ford Motor by 610.1% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,177,304 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $146,646,000 after acquiring an additional 9,603,267 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Ford Motor by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 38,153,383 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $500,572,000 after acquiring an additional 8,086,564 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.74% of the company’s stock.

About Ford Motor

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is an American multinational automaker headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan. Founded by Henry Ford in 1903, the company became an early pioneer of mass-production techniques with the Model T and the adoption of the moving assembly line. Today, Ford designs, manufactures, markets and services a broad range of vehicles and mobility solutions under the Ford and Lincoln brands, spanning passenger cars, SUVs, pickup trucks and commercial vehicles.

Ford’s business activities extend beyond vehicle production to include parts and aftermarket services, fleet and commercial sales, and automotive financing through Ford Motor Credit Company.