Visteon Corporation (NASDAQ:VC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Visteon Corporation (NASDAQ:VC) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 2,892,988 shares, a growth of 18.0% from the February 12th total of 2,451,435 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 791,370 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days. Currently, 11.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Currently, 11.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 791,370 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Visteon from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Visteon from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $120.00 price objective on Visteon in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Visteon from $148.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Visteon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.33.

Visteon Price Performance

Shares of VC opened at $89.09 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.45, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.49. Visteon has a twelve month low of $65.10 and a twelve month high of $129.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Visteon (NASDAQ:VC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.88. The firm had revenue of $948.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $920.25 million. Visteon had a net margin of 6.93% and a return on equity of 17.94%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.44 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Visteon will post 8.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Visteon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Visteon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Visteon’s payout ratio is currently 15.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Visteon news, CEO Sachin Lawande sold 49,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.44, for a total transaction of $4,620,888.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 175,527 shares in the company, valued at $16,401,242.88. This represents a 21.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VC. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Visteon by 144.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new stake in Visteon during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Visteon during the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. EMC Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Visteon during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Visteon during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.71% of the company’s stock.

About Visteon

Visteon Corporation is a global automotive electronics supplier that specializes in designing, engineering and manufacturing cockpit electronics and connected vehicle solutions. The company’s product portfolio spans digital instrument clusters, infotainment systems, domain controllers and advanced driver interaction technologies. By integrating hardware, software and services, Visteon aims to deliver complete cockpit electronics platforms that enhance driver experience, safety and connectivity.

Founded in 2000 as a spin-off from Ford Motor Company, Visteon has evolved its focus toward next-generation electronics and software-driven vehicle architectures.