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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Autoliv in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Autoliv from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $116.00 price target on shares of Autoliv in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Autoliv has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.77.

Autoliv Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of ALV stock opened at $96.78 on Thursday. Autoliv has a fifty-two week low of $89.51 and a fifty-two week high of $129.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $96.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.60, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.59.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The auto parts company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.16). Autoliv had a return on equity of 30.85% and a net margin of 5.98%. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Autoliv will post 8.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This is an increase from Autoliv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Autoliv’s payout ratio is currently 36.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Autoliv

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ALV. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its position in Autoliv by 44.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 4,199 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $506,000 after acquiring an additional 1,287 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Autoliv by 62.7% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 262 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. BDF Gestion acquired a new position in Autoliv in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,284,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Autoliv by 13.5% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,446 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt acquired a new position in Autoliv in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,240,000. 69.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Autoliv

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.