Visteon (NASDAQ:VC) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Visteon (NASDAQ:VC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning.

Several other research analysts have also commented on VC. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Visteon from $126.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Visteon from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Visteon from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Visteon from $118.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Visteon from $95.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.33.

Visteon Price Performance

VC stock opened at $86.00 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $94.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $103.90. Visteon has a 12-month low of $65.10 and a 12-month high of $129.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of 9.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.15.

Visteon (NASDAQ:VC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.88. The company had revenue of $948.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $920.25 million. Visteon had a return on equity of 17.94% and a net margin of 6.93%.Visteon’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Visteon will post 8.42 EPS for the current year.

Visteon Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Visteon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Visteon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Visteon news, CEO Sachin Lawande sold 49,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.44, for a total value of $4,620,888.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 175,527 shares in the company, valued at $16,401,242.88. This represents a 21.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Visteon

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in Visteon during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Visteon by 144.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in Visteon in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Visteon in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Visteon by 72.0% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 423 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. 99.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Visteon Company Profile

Visteon Corporation is a global automotive electronics supplier that specializes in designing, engineering and manufacturing cockpit electronics and connected vehicle solutions. The company’s product portfolio spans digital instrument clusters, infotainment systems, domain controllers and advanced driver interaction technologies. By integrating hardware, software and services, Visteon aims to deliver complete cockpit electronics platforms that enhance driver experience, safety and connectivity.

Founded in 2000 as a spin-off from Ford Motor Company, Visteon has evolved its focus toward next-generation electronics and software-driven vehicle architectures.