Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Ford Motor (NYSE:F)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Ford Motor (NYSE:F) by 60.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 39,259 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 59,853 shares during the quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ford Motor were worth $388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in F. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ford Motor by 29.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,464,980 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $15,998,000 after purchasing an additional 336,720 shares during the period. NCP Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ford Motor by 62.0% in the 4th quarter. NCP Inc. now owns 74,520 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $738,000 after buying an additional 28,528 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ford Motor by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,394,681 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $46,408,000 after buying an additional 160,409 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 87.1% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 196,100 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,941,000 after buying an additional 91,300 shares during the period. Finally, CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new stake in shares of Ford Motor in the fourth quarter valued at about $10,853,000. 58.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on F. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Ford Motor in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $10.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lowered shares of Ford Motor from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $11.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Ford Motor from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Ford Motor from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Ford Motor to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ford Motor currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.37.

Ford Motor Stock Performance

F opened at $9.58 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $37.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $9.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.25. Ford Motor has a 52-week low of $9.06 and a 52-week high of $14.85.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.04. Ford Motor had a net margin of 3.18% and a return on equity of 16.88%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ford Motor will post 1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ford Motor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Ford Motor’s payout ratio is 41.10%.

Ford Motor Company Profile

Ford Motor Company develops, delivers, and services a range of Ford trucks, commercial cars and vans, sport utility vehicles, and Lincoln luxury vehicles worldwide. It operates through Ford Blue, Ford Model e, and Ford Pro; Ford Next; and Ford Credit segments. The company sells Ford and Lincoln vehicles, service parts, and accessories through distributors and dealers, as well as through dealerships to commercial fleet customers, daily rental car companies, and governments.