Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Shares Down 1.2% – Time to Sell?

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) dropped 1.2% on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $12.87 and last traded at $12.9450. Approximately 34,772,210 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average daily volume of 57,898,664 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on F. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Ford Motor from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ford Motor from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ford Motor in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ford Motor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $14.50 to $17.50 in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Ford Motor from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ford Motor presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.68.

Ford Motor Stock Up 0.8%

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $14.03 and its 200-day moving average is $13.52. The stock has a market cap of $50.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $48.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.24 billion. Ford Motor had a negative net margin of 3.93% and a positive return on equity of 17.23%. Ford Motor’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ford Motor Company will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ford Motor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Ford Motor’s payout ratio is presently -32.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ford Motor

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 110,023 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $1,529,000 after buying an additional 7,587 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Ford Motor by 20.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 670,152 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $9,315,000 after acquiring an additional 114,937 shares in the last quarter. Andra AP fonden raised its position in Ford Motor by 88.2% in the second quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 504,055 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $7,006,000 after acquiring an additional 236,200 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Ford Motor by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 194,039,770 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,697,153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,492,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Altus USA Inc. acquired a new stake in Ford Motor in the 2nd quarter valued at about $125,000. 58.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Ford Motor

Ford Motor Co is a global automotive company that designs, manufactures, markets and services cars, trucks, sport utility vehicles and commercial vehicles. Its portfolio includes the Ford and Lincoln brands, as well as a range of gasoline-powered, hybrid and electric vehicles. Ford also provides vehicle maintenance, repair and related services through its dealer network.

The company organizes its automotive operations into Ford Blue, which focuses on traditional and hybrid vehicles; Ford Model e, which develops electric vehicles and connected technologies; and Ford Pro, which serves commercial and government customers with vehicles, software and fleet-management services.