Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Raised to “Buy” at Jefferies Financial Group

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) was upgraded by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $17.50 price target on the auto manufacturer’s stock, up from their previous price target of $14.50. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 21.99% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ford Motor from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ford Motor in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Zacks Research raised Ford Motor from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Barclays upped their price target on Ford Motor from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ford Motor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.15.

Ford Motor Price Performance

F opened at $14.35 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84. Ford Motor has a 52-week low of $10.68 and a 52-week high of $17.78. The company has a 50 day moving average of $14.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.44. The company has a market cap of $57.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.82.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $43.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.66 billion. Ford Motor had a negative net margin of 3.22% and a positive return on equity of 15.77%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.14 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ford Motor will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in F. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ford Motor during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $674,437,000. SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. acquired a new position in Ford Motor in the fourth quarter worth $1,769,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Ford Motor by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,908,234 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $25,036,000 after purchasing an additional 189,310 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Ford Motor by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,345,131 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $57,008,000 after purchasing an additional 103,423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in Ford Motor by 223.5% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,229,629 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $25,729,000 after purchasing an additional 1,540,403 shares during the last quarter. 58.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.