Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Daiwa America

Daiwa America upgraded shares of Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on ALV. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Autoliv from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Autoliv from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com lowered Autoliv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Autoliv from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Autoliv currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.50.

Autoliv Stock Down 1.7 %

Autoliv stock opened at $93.43 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $96.37 and a 200-day moving average of $98.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Autoliv has a twelve month low of $89.51 and a twelve month high of $129.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.26 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.59.

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

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost from Autoliv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. Autoliv’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Autoliv

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Autoliv by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 987,375 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $92,221,000 after purchasing an additional 95,888 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in Autoliv by 1,437.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 51,994 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $4,855,000 after acquiring an additional 48,612 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Autoliv by 38.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 276,315 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $25,800,000 after acquiring an additional 76,510 shares in the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Autoliv by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 135,424 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $12,645,000 after acquiring an additional 33,490 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 41.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 30,216 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,821,000 after purchasing an additional 8,859 shares in the last quarter. 69.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.