Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $120.6429.

ALV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Autoliv from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Autoliv from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. BNP Paribas upgraded Autoliv from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Autoliv in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $133.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Autoliv from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st.

Autoliv Stock Performance

Shares of ALV stock opened at $118.37 on Monday. Autoliv has a 52 week low of $75.49 and a 52 week high of $119.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $113.60 and a 200-day moving average of $100.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $9.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.39.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The auto parts company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.14. Autoliv had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 6.83%. The company had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.57 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. Autoliv’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Autoliv will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This is a boost from Autoliv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Autoliv’s payout ratio is presently 30.63%.

Autoliv declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the auto parts company to buy up to 31.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Autoliv news, Director Jan Carlson sold 1,555 shares of Autoliv stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.32, for a total transaction of $168,437.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 77,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,394,041.76. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Autoliv by 122.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 370 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Autoliv during the 1st quarter valued at about $637,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in shares of Autoliv by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 84,358 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $7,461,000 after acquiring an additional 8,953 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Autoliv by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 75,591 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $6,686,000 after acquiring an additional 5,137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Autoliv by 418.3% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,483,726 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $219,686,000 after acquiring an additional 2,004,515 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.57% of the company’s stock.

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.