Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Stock Price Up 1.2% – Should You Buy?

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) shares were up 1.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $10.06 and last traded at $10.02. Approximately 29,083,141 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 54,326,992 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

F has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of Ford Motor in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Ford Motor from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $11.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Ford Motor from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $12.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Ford Motor in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ford Motor presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.83.

Ford Motor Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.19. The company has a market cap of $40.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.44, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.62.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.02. Ford Motor had a return on equity of 16.16% and a net margin of 1.93%. The company had revenue of $46.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. Ford Motor’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Ford Motor will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Ford Motor Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.96%. Ford Motor’s payout ratio is 68.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ford Motor

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ford Motor by 3.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,394,681 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $46,408,000 after acquiring an additional 160,409 shares during the last quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL raised its stake in Ford Motor by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL now owns 14,200 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Ford Motor by 29.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 79.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 302,940 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $3,199,000 after purchasing an additional 134,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Ford Motor during the third quarter worth about $192,000. 58.74% of the stock is 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.