Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,810,000 shares, an increase of 10.6% from the November 30th total of 2,540,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 785,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days. Approximately 3.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Autoliv by 38.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 276,315 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $25,800,000 after acquiring an additional 76,510 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Autoliv during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,684,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Autoliv in the third quarter valued at $609,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management lifted its position in Autoliv by 226.6% in the third quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 19,842 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,852,000 after purchasing an additional 13,766 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Autoliv by 10.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 987,375 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $92,221,000 after buying an additional 95,888 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.57% of the company’s stock.

Autoliv Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALV traded up $0.81 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $93.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 420,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 698,267. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.59. Autoliv has a fifty-two week low of $89.51 and a fifty-two week high of $129.38.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The auto parts company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.16). Autoliv had a return on equity of 30.85% and a net margin of 5.98%. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Autoliv will post 8.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. This is an increase from Autoliv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. Autoliv’s dividend payout ratio is 36.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on ALV shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Autoliv from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com cut shares of Autoliv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 25th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Autoliv in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Autoliv from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Autoliv from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Autoliv has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.46.

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.