Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) Short Interest Update

Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,730,000 shares, a decline of 15.2% from the February 28th total of 2,040,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 837,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Cowen assumed coverage on Autoliv in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Autoliv in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $116.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Autoliv from $115.00 to $112.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Pareto Securities downgraded Autoliv to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Daiwa America raised shares of Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Autoliv

In other Autoliv news, CEO Mikael Bratt sold 5,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.90, for a total value of $569,664.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 23,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,305,062.30. The trade was a 19.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Per Jonas Jademyr sold 401 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.85, for a total transaction of $39,638.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,712.25. The trade was a 36.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,253 shares of company stock valued at $915,534. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Autoliv

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 139.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 273 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in Autoliv by 74.4% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 314 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC acquired a new stake in Autoliv in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Autoliv during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Autoliv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 69.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Autoliv Price Performance

NYSE ALV traded up $1.00 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $90.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 183,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 780,710. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Autoliv has a 1-year low of $87.55 and a 1-year high of $129.38. The company’s 50-day moving average is $95.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.59.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The auto parts company reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.21. Autoliv had a return on equity of 28.62% and a net margin of 6.21%. On average, equities analysts predict that Autoliv will post 9.51 EPS for the current year.

Autoliv Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Autoliv’s payout ratio is currently 34.70%.

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.