Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $122.9167.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ALV shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Autoliv from $106.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Autoliv from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Autoliv in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Autoliv from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Autoliv from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st.

Institutional Trading of Autoliv

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Autoliv by 418.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,483,726 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $219,686,000 after acquiring an additional 2,004,515 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Autoliv in the 2nd quarter worth $110,368,000. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Autoliv by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,397,735 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $268,307,000 after acquiring an additional 499,411 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Autoliv by 334.1% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 644,818 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $72,155,000 after acquiring an additional 496,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Autoliv by 83.3% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,020,082 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $114,147,000 after acquiring an additional 463,449 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.57% of the company’s stock.

Autoliv Stock Down 1.2%

Autoliv stock opened at $124.97 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Autoliv has a 12-month low of $75.49 and a 12-month high of $127.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $118.99 and its 200 day moving average is $104.96. The company has a market capitalization of $9.60 billion, a PE ratio of 13.67, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.35.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The auto parts company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.14. Autoliv had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 30.73%. The company had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.87 EPS. Autoliv’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Autoliv will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 4th that allows the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the auto parts company to reacquire up to 31.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Autoliv

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.