Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Trading Up 5.6% – Here’s What Happened

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) shares shot up 5.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $12.24 and last traded at $12.1680. 58,073,862 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 9% from the average session volume of 63,653,918 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on F. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Ford Motor in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $17.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research cut shares of Ford Motor from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Ford Motor from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ford Motor in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Ford Motor from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ford Motor presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.22.

Ford Motor Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.93. The stock has a market cap of $48.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.91, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $45.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.78 billion. Ford Motor had a positive return on equity of 10.16% and a negative net margin of 4.37%.Ford Motor’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Ford Motor Company will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Ford Motor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Ford Motor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -29.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ford Motor

In related news, insider William Clay Ford, Jr. acquired 140,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 approximately $54,072,132. The trade was a 3.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ford Motor

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Ford Motor by 110.7% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,903 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ford Motor in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. McMillan Office Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ford Motor in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Ford Motor in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Corsicana & Co. bought a new position in shares of Ford Motor in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. 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.