Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Trading Up 5.2% – Should You Buy?

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) shares were up 5.2% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $16.75 and last traded at $16.7050. Approximately 98,008,688 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 57% from the average daily volume of 62,538,938 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on F shares. Zacks Research downgraded Ford Motor from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Ford Motor from $13.50 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Ford Motor in a report on Friday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Ford Motor from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Ford Motor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.56.

Ford Motor Stock Up 5.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $66.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.78, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $12.51 and a 200 day moving average of $13.08.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.48. Ford Motor had a positive return on equity of 15.77% and a negative net margin of 3.22%.The company had revenue of $43.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.14 earnings per share. Ford Motor’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Ford Motor Company will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Ford Motor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. Ford Motor’s payout ratio is currently -38.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Maripau Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Ford Motor by 1.6% in the first quarter. Maripau Wealth Management LLC now owns 46,606 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 749 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Ford Motor by 7.4% in the first quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,727 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ford Motor in the first quarter valued at about $157,000. Summitry LLC grew its position in Ford Motor by 84.1% in the first quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 25,977 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 11,867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WNY Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Ford Motor in the first quarter valued at about $417,000. Institutional investors own 58.74% of the company’s stock.

About Ford Motor

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is an American multinational automaker headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan. Founded by Henry Ford in 1903, the company became an early pioneer of mass-production techniques with the Model T and the adoption of the moving assembly line. Today, Ford designs, manufactures, markets and services a broad range of vehicles and mobility solutions under the Ford and Lincoln brands, spanning passenger cars, SUVs, pickup trucks and commercial vehicles.

Ford’s business activities extend beyond vehicle production to include parts and aftermarket services, fleet and commercial sales, and automotive financing through Ford Motor Credit Company.