Ford Motor Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:F)

Key Points

• Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) experienced a significant increase in options trading, with 116,649 call options purchased, representing a 31% rise compared to its average volume.
• Several analysts have upgraded Ford's ratings, with Jefferies upgrading it from "underperform" to "hold" and increasing the price target from $9.00 to $12.00.
• Ford's stock has risen to $12.57, and it recently reported earnings per share of $0.37, exceeding analyst expectations and demonstrating a revenue increase of 5% year-over-year.

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 116,649 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 31% compared to the average daily volume of 89,143 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on F shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ford Motor from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $9.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ford Motor from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. UBS Group raised their price target on Ford Motor from $11.00 to $12.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ford Motor from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Ford Motor in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $11.11.

Ford Motor Trading Up 4.8%

Shares of Ford Motor stock traded up $0.58 on Tuesday, hitting $12.57. 297,042,920 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 86,436,472. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $11.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24. Ford Motor has a 52 week low of $8.44 and a 52 week high of $12.80. The company has a market cap of $50.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.12, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.53.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $50.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.91 billion. Ford Motor had a net margin of 1.70% and a return on equity of 12.46%. The company's revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Ford Motor will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Ford Motor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. Ford Motor's payout ratio is 76.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ford Motor

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ford Motor by 9.6% in the first quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 12,543 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ford Motor during the first quarter worth $7,398,000. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. increased its position in shares of Ford Motor by 25.0% during the first quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. now owns 300,000 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $3,009,000 after purchasing an additional 60,000 shares in the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ford Motor in the first quarter valued at $465,000. Finally, Quantitative Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ford Motor in the first quarter valued at $2,373,000. Institutional investors own 58.74% of the company's stock.

Ford Motor Company Profile

Ford Motor Company develops, delivers, and services a range of Ford trucks, commercial cars and vans, sport utility vehicles, and Lincoln luxury vehicles worldwide. It operates through Ford Blue, Ford Model e, and Ford Pro; Ford Next; and Ford Credit segments. The company sells Ford and Lincoln vehicles, service parts, and accessories through distributors and dealers, as well as through dealerships to commercial fleet customers, daily rental car companies, and governments.

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