Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Shares Down 2.5% After Analyst Downgrade

Ford Motor (NYSE:F)’s share price was down 2.5% during trading on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $13.00 to $11.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Ford Motor traded as low as $9.82 and last traded at $10.05. Approximately 78,756,465 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 25% from the average daily volume of 62,802,576 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.30.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Barclays cut shares of Ford Motor from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $13.00 to $11.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Ford Motor in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $10.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Ford Motor from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $12.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Ford Motor in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Ford Motor from $19.00 to $15.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.37.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ford Motor

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Ford Motor by 29.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,464,980 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $15,998,000 after buying an additional 336,720 shares during the period. NCP Inc. raised its position in shares of Ford Motor by 62.0% in the 4th quarter. NCP Inc. now owns 74,520 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 28,528 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,394,681 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $46,408,000 after purchasing an additional 160,409 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ford Motor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,456,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Ford Motor by 87.1% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 196,100 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,941,000 after purchasing an additional 91,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.74% of the company’s stock.

Ford Motor Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $9.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $39.30 billion, a PE ratio of 6.79, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.59.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.04. Ford Motor had a net margin of 3.18% and a return on equity of 16.88%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ford Motor will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Ford Motor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Ford Motor’s dividend payout ratio is 41.10%.

Ford Motor Company Profile

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.