Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Lowered to “Equal Weight” at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley cut shares of Ford Motor (NYSE:F) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note published on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $12.00 price objective on the auto manufacturer’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $16.00.

F has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ford Motor from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Ford Motor from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a hold rating and issued a $11.00 price target on shares of Ford Motor in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Ford Motor in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a peer perform rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ford Motor from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ford Motor presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $12.64.

Ford Motor Stock Down 4.1 %

Shares of F stock opened at $10.42 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.02. Ford Motor has a twelve month low of $9.49 and a twelve month high of $14.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $41.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.74, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.62.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.21). Ford Motor had a return on equity of 15.28% and a net margin of 2.13%. The firm had revenue of $47.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. Ford Motor’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Ford Motor will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

Ford Motor Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.76%. Ford Motor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.86%.

Institutional Trading of Ford Motor

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its holdings in Ford Motor by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 46,670 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $569,000 after acquiring an additional 1,836 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 20,906 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,352 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ford Motor by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 26,116 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 1,002 shares during the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE acquired a new position in Ford Motor during the fourth quarter worth $235,000. Finally, United Services Automobile Association raised its position in Ford Motor by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 111,198 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $1,356,000 after acquiring an additional 11,396 shares in the last quarter. 58.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ford Motor

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.