Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) Raised to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Autoliv has been upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating, reflecting positive sentiment for the company.
• Analyst price targets for Autoliv have varied, with Mizuho raising their target to $112 and Jefferies setting a target price of $140.
• The company announced a stock repurchase plan allowing it to buy back $2.50 billion of its outstanding shares, signaling confidence in its valuation and future prospects.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Saturday.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $135.00 target price (up from $105.00) on shares of Autoliv in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Autoliv in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of Autoliv from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Autoliv from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $123.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Autoliv in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $133.00 price objective on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Autoliv has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $120.64.

Autoliv Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:ALV traded down $1.98 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $114.04. 1,067,862 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 837,193. The company has a fifty day moving average of $110.51 and a 200 day moving average of $99.30. Autoliv has a 12 month low of $75.49 and a 12 month high of $118.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.48, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.37.

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

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

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a positive change from Autoliv's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Autoliv's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Autoliv news, Director Jan Carlson sold 1,555 shares of Autoliv stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.32, for a total transaction of $168,437.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 77,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,394,041.76. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Autoliv by 122.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 370 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Autoliv during the first quarter worth $637,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in Autoliv by 11.9% during the first quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 84,358 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $7,461,000 after buying an additional 8,953 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Autoliv by 7.3% during the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 75,591 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $6,686,000 after buying an additional 5,137 shares during the period. Finally, OLD Mission Capital LLC boosted its stake in Autoliv by 92.7% during the fourth quarter. OLD Mission Capital LLC now owns 63,264 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $5,934,000 after buying an additional 30,431 shares during the period. 69.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.