Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) Hits New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Autoliv's shares reached a new 52-week high of $120.30, with a recent close at $119.70, reflecting strong trading activity and positive investor sentiment.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.21, exceeding expectations, and announced a dividend increase from $0.70 to $0.85, indicating solid financial performance.
• Analysts have upgraded Autoliv's stock ratings, with two ratings marked as "Strong Buy," and a consensus price target set at $120.64, suggesting positive future outlooks for the company.

Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $120.30 and last traded at $119.70, with a volume of 442339 shares. The stock had previously closed at $118.92.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho raised their price target on Autoliv from $95.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Autoliv in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $133.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas raised Autoliv from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. BNP Paribas Exane raised Autoliv from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $123.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Autoliv in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $120.64.

Autoliv Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $114.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.62. The firm has a market cap of $9.55 billion, a PE ratio of 13.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.57 billion. Autoliv had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 6.83%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.87 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 EPS for the current year.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a positive change from Autoliv's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Autoliv's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.20%.

Autoliv announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 4th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the auto parts company to buy up to 31.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Autoliv

In other news, Director Jan Carlson sold 1,555 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.32, for a total transaction of $168,437.60. Following the sale, the director owned 77,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,394,041.76. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Autoliv

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Autoliv by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,517,790 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $281,741,000 after buying an additional 34,064 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Autoliv by 26.3% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,397,735 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $268,307,000 after buying an additional 499,411 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Autoliv by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,857,069 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $164,257,000 after buying an additional 233,469 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in Autoliv by 83.3% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,020,082 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $114,147,000 after buying an additional 463,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Autoliv by 26.0% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 999,506 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $111,845,000 after buying an additional 206,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.57% of the company's stock.

About Autoliv

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.