Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Downgraded to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ford Motor (NYSE:F) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Sunday morning.

F has been the subject of a number of other reports. Bank of America started coverage on Ford Motor in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $17.00 price target for the company. HSBC upped their price objective on Ford Motor from $9.80 to $12.80 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $12.00 target price on shares of Ford Motor in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ford Motor from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Ford Motor from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.22.

Ford Motor Price Performance

F stock opened at $11.59 on Friday. Ford Motor has a 12 month low of $8.44 and a 12 month high of $14.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $12.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.93. The stock has a market cap of $46.22 billion, a PE ratio of -5.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.70.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.07. Ford Motor had a negative net margin of 4.37% and a positive return on equity of 10.16%. The company had revenue of $45.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ford Motor will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Ford Motor Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. Ford Motor’s dividend payout ratio is -29.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider William Clay Ford, Jr. acquired 140,000 shares of Ford Motor stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.82 per share, for a total transaction of $1,934,800.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 3,912,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,072,132. This trade represents a 3.71% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ford Motor

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ford Motor by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 471,705,454 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $6,188,776,000 after acquiring an additional 4,087,699 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Ford Motor by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 152,017,084 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,994,464,000 after purchasing an additional 4,089,779 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ford Motor by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 106,600,353 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,394,697,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255,349 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ford Motor in the 4th quarter valued at about $674,437,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Ford Motor by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 45,857,344 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $601,687,000 after purchasing an additional 125,534 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.74% of the company’s stock.

Ford Motor Company Profile

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.