StockNews.com Upgrades Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) to Buy

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Autoliv from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Autoliv in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Autoliv from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Autoliv from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.77.

Autoliv Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:ALV opened at $97.31 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $7.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.59. Autoliv has a 52 week low of $89.51 and a 52 week high of $129.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $96.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $102.20.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Autoliv

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Autoliv by 20.5% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,362,040 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $252,715,000 after buying an additional 402,426 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in Autoliv by 1,437.4% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 51,994 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $4,855,000 after purchasing an additional 48,612 shares during the period. BDF Gestion bought a new position in shares of Autoliv during the second quarter worth $1,284,000. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Autoliv by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 135,424 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $12,645,000 after buying an additional 33,490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Autoliv by 35.8% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 272,793 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $29,186,000 after buying an additional 71,931 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.57% of the company’s stock.

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.