Ford Motor Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:F)

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 245,108 call options on the company. This is an increase of 47% compared to the average daily volume of 166,351 call options.

Ford Motor Stock Down 2.4 %

Ford Motor stock opened at $10.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $41.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.73, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $11.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.61. Ford Motor has a 52 week low of $9.63 and a 52 week high of $15.42.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 26th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $43.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.94 billion. Ford Motor had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 3.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ford Motor will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ford Motor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 1st will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 31st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.82%. Ford Motor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ford Motor in the second quarter worth about $26,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ford Motor by 178.1% during the second quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,805 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,156 shares during the period. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ford Motor during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ford Motor during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ford Motor during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. 52.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Ford Motor from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 31st. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Ford Motor in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Ford Motor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Barclays upgraded shares of Ford Motor from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $14.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ford Motor from $10.00 to $11.00 in a research report on Monday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.42.

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.