Visteon (NASDAQ:VC) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Visteon from "buy" to "hold", and several other firms have trimmed targets — the consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $122.33.
• Visteon beat expectations for the quarter with EPS of $2.96 vs. $2.08 and revenue of $948M vs. $920.25M, yet the stock trades around $89.09 with a P/E of 9.45 and a market cap near $2.39B.
• CEO Sachin Lawande sold 49,453 shares for about $4.62M (reducing his stake by ~22%), while institutional ownership is very high (~99.71%) and several funds recently boosted positions.

Visteon (NASDAQ:VC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $120.00 target price on shares of Visteon in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Visteon from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $117.00 price target on shares of Visteon in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Visteon from $126.00 to $119.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Visteon from $140.00 to $127.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $122.33.

Visteon Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ VC opened at $89.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.80. Visteon has a 1 year low of $65.10 and a 1 year high of $129.10. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $96.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.64. The firm has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.15.

Visteon (NASDAQ:VC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.88. The business had revenue of $948.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $920.25 million. Visteon had a net margin of 6.93% and a return on equity of 17.94%. The firm's revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.44 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Visteon will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Sachin Lawande sold 49,453 shares of Visteon stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.44, for a total value of $4,620,888.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 175,527 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,401,242.88. The trade was a 21.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Visteon

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Visteon by 389.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 21,992 shares of the company's stock worth $1,707,000 after acquiring an additional 17,497 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Visteon by 31.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 249,564 shares of the company's stock worth $19,371,000 after purchasing an additional 59,764 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Visteon by 42.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,161 shares of the company's stock worth $3,280,000 after purchasing an additional 10,463 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Visteon by 16.1% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,713 shares of the company's stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Visteon by 2.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 699,996 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,316,000 after purchasing an additional 14,662 shares during the last quarter. 99.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Visteon

Visteon Corporation is a global automotive electronics supplier that specializes in designing, engineering and manufacturing cockpit electronics and connected vehicle solutions. The company's product portfolio spans digital instrument clusters, infotainment systems, domain controllers and advanced driver interaction technologies. By integrating hardware, software and services, Visteon aims to deliver complete cockpit electronics platforms that enhance driver experience, safety and connectivity.

Founded in 2000 as a spin-off from Ford Motor Company, Visteon has evolved its focus toward next-generation electronics and software-driven vehicle architectures.

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