Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) Short Interest Up 9.4% in April

Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,740,000 shares, a growth of 9.4% from the March 31st total of 1,590,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 541,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Autoliv Stock Performance

ALV traded down $1.46 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $119.78. The company had a trading volume of 740,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 550,920. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $9.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.72. Autoliv has a 12-month low of $79.66 and a 12-month high of $125.91. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $117.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.27.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The auto parts company reported $3.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $2.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.75 billion. Autoliv had a net margin of 5.10% and a return on equity of 29.84%. Autoliv's revenue was up 17.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Autoliv will post 9.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. Autoliv's payout ratio is currently 42.43%.

Insider Activity at Autoliv

In other Autoliv news, insider Colin Naughton sold 782 shares of Autoliv stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.68, for a total transaction of $86,551.76. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at $619,143.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Autoliv news, EVP Anthony J. Nellis sold 760 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $83,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $534,490. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Colin Naughton sold 782 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.68, for a total transaction of $86,551.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $619,143.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,388 shares of company stock worth $921,757 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Autoliv

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Autoliv in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Autoliv by 84.1% in the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 267 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Autoliv in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Autoliv by 83.8% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 489 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Autoliv by 15,425.0% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 621 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. 69.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ALV. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Autoliv from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 20th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Autoliv from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Autoliv from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $125.90.

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.