Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Short Interest Down 15.6% in April

Ford Motor (NYSE:F - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 160,500,000 shares, a drop of 15.6% from the March 31st total of 190,090,000 shares. Currently, 4.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 122,750,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

F has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $9.00 target price (down from $11.00) on shares of Ford Motor in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Ford Motor in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a "hold" rating and a $10.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ford Motor from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Ford Motor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $9.83.

Ford Motor Price Performance

F stock traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $10.20. 105,264,342 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 73,823,860. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The company has a market cap of $40.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.99, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.07. Ford Motor has a 1-year low of $8.44 and a 1-year high of $14.85.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.16. Ford Motor had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 3.18%. Ford Motor's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Ford Motor will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Ford Motor Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Ford Motor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ford Motor

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in Ford Motor by 23.4% in the first quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 14,243 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 2,698 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its position in shares of Ford Motor by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 301,027 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $3,019,000 after purchasing an additional 12,205 shares during the last quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ford Motor by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 41,367 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 5,762 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 25.2% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 94,202 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 18,977 shares during the period. Finally, OneAscent Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Ford Motor by 107.1% in the first quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 122,748 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $1,224,000 after purchasing an additional 63,488 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.74% of the company's stock.

About Ford Motor

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.