Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts have issued an average rating of "Moderate Buy" for Autoliv, with two strong buy recommendations and ten buy recommendations among the seventeen research firms covering the stock.
• Autoliv reported earnings of $2.21 per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, along with revenue of $2.71 billion, a 4.2% increase from the previous year.
• The company has also approved a $2.50 billion share repurchase program, indicating confidence from its board in the stock's valuation.

Shares of Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $122.9167.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ALV shares. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Autoliv in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $133.00 target price on the stock. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $135.00 target price (up previously from $105.00) on shares of Autoliv in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Autoliv in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Autoliv from $106.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Autoliv from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Autoliv

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Autoliv by 122.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 370 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Autoliv during the 1st quarter worth $1,029,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Autoliv during the 1st quarter worth $637,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in Autoliv by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 84,358 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $7,461,000 after purchasing an additional 8,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Autoliv by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 75,591 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $6,686,000 after purchasing an additional 5,137 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.57% of the company's stock.

Autoliv Trading Down 0.1%

Autoliv stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $124.91. 586,987 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 500,639. Autoliv has a 52-week low of $75.49 and a 52-week high of $127.89. The company has a market capitalization of $9.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.67, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $119.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.10.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The auto parts company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.14. Autoliv had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 6.83%.The firm had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.87 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Autoliv will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 4th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the auto parts company to buy up to 31.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Autoliv Company Profile

Autoliv, Inc, through its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and supplies passive safety systems to the automotive industry in Europe, the Americas, China, Japan, and rest of Asia. It offers passive safety systems, including modules and components for frontal-impact airbag protection systems, side-impact airbag protection systems, seatbelts, steering wheels, and inflator technologies.