Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Stock Falls 1.3% on Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Ford shares fell 1.3% to about $12.12 after Weiss Ratings downgraded the stock from “buy” to “hold.” Trading volume was roughly 33.7 million shares, below the average.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but centered on “hold,” with seven buy ratings, eleven hold ratings and one sell rating. The average analyst price target is $15.55.
• Ford exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.42 in EPS and $48.3 billion in revenue, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, implying a 5.0% annualized yield.

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 1.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Weiss Ratings downgraded the stock from a buy (b) rating to a hold (c-) rating. The company traded as low as $12.04 and last traded at $12.1150. Approximately 33,663,942 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 57,069,734 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.28.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $14.00 to $14.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ford Motor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ford Motor from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ford Motor from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ford Motor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $14.50 to $17.50 in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $15.55.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ford Motor

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in F. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its position in Ford Motor by 120.4% in the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 18,033 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 9,850 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in shares of Ford Motor by 12.7% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 23,344 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 2,631 shares during the period. Eastern Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Ford Motor by 4.5% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 48,998 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $591,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107 shares during the period. CX Institutional grew its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 679.2% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 716,656 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $8,643,000 after purchasing an additional 624,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 14.5% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 15,014 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,906 shares during the last quarter. 58.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ford Motor Stock Down 1.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $48.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 1.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $13.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.09. Ford Motor had a positive return on equity of 17.23% and a negative net margin of 3.93%.The business had revenue of $48.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.24 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. Ford Motor's revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ford Motor Company will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Ford Motor Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. Ford Motor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -32.09%.

Ford Motor Company Profile

Ford Motor Co is an American automobile manufacturer that designs, manufactures, markets and services a broad range of vehicles and mobility-related products. Its lineup includes cars, trucks, sport utility vehicles, commercial vehicles and electric vehicles sold under the Ford brand, as well as luxury vehicles marketed through its Lincoln brand.

Founded by Henry Ford in 1903 and headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, Ford is one of the world's oldest major automakers. The company helped popularize mass automobile production and continues to serve customers in North America, South America, Europe and other international markets through manufacturing, sales and distribution operations.

Ford organizes its operations around Ford Blue for gasoline and hybrid vehicles, Model e for electric vehicles, and Ford Pro for commercial customers and related services.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.