Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $122.77.

ALV has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Autoliv from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America cut their target price on Autoliv from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Autoliv from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Autoliv from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Autoliv

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Autoliv by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 954 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 23,456 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,190,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,953 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $851,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Autoliv by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,765 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $617,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Autoliv by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 16,606 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,777,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. 69.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Autoliv Stock Performance

NYSE ALV opened at $99.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.92, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.59. Autoliv has a twelve month low of $89.51 and a twelve month high of $129.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.49.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last issued its 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 net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 30.85%. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Autoliv will post 8.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. This is a positive change from Autoliv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. Autoliv’s payout ratio is currently 36.46%.

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.