Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $16.06 and last traded at $15.8750, with a volume of 89189997 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.32.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on F shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Ford Motor in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $17.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $13.00 target price on shares of Ford Motor in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ford Motor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Ford Motor from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.56.

Ford Motor Stock Up 3.6%

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $12.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.08. The stock has a market cap of $63.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $43.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.66 billion. Ford Motor had a negative net margin of 3.22% and a positive return on equity of 15.77%. Ford Motor’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ford Motor Company will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Ford Motor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. Ford Motor’s payout ratio is presently -38.71%.

Institutional Trading of Ford Motor

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in shares of Ford Motor in the 1st quarter valued at $304,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ford Motor by 41.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 147,760 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 43,385 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ford Motor in the 2nd quarter valued at $172,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ford Motor by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 267,895 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,907,000 after purchasing an additional 55,741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in shares of Ford Motor by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 1,823,614 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $19,786,000 after purchasing an additional 26,526 shares during the last quarter. 58.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.