Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) Board of Directors Announces Stock Buyback Plan

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 4th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the auto parts company to purchase up to 31.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Autoliv Stock Performance

ALV traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $105.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 394,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 818,610. The stock has a market cap of $8.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.09, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Autoliv has a twelve month low of $75.49 and a twelve month high of $119.74.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The auto parts company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $2.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Autoliv had a return on equity of 28.62% and a net margin of 6.21%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.58 EPS. Research analysts expect that Autoliv will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. This is a positive change from Autoliv's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Autoliv's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on ALV. Mizuho raised their price objective on Autoliv from $95.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. UBS Group raised their price target on Autoliv from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Autoliv from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen raised Autoliv from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Autoliv from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $114.00.

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.