Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Ford Motor (NYSE:F)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Ford Motor (NYSE:F) by 44.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,634 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock after selling 7,000 shares during the quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Ford Motor were worth $85,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ford Motor in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Ford Motor during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ford Motor in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ford Motor in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ford Motor during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 58.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ford Motor Stock Up 0.7 %

F stock opened at $9.78 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $38.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $10.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Ford Motor has a 12 month low of $9.49 and a 12 month high of $14.85.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last announced 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 net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 16.16%. The business had revenue of $46.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Ford Motor will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Ford Motor Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.13%. Ford Motor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Ford Motor from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Ford Motor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $12.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Ford Motor from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $11.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Ford Motor from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $16.00 to $12.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Ford Motor from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ford Motor currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.83.

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.