Visteon (NASDAQ:VC) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Visteon shares gapped up after JPMorgan Chase upgraded the stock from neutral to overweight and raised its price target to $165 from $108. The stock opened at $123.00 versus a prior close of $113.81.
• Several other analysts have also turned more bullish, including Goldman Sachs, UBS, Barclays, Wells Fargo, and Robert W. Baird. Overall, Visteon now has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $132.92.
• Recent earnings showed revenue beat expectations but EPS missed estimates, and insiders have been selling shares in recent months. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.375 per share, equal to a 1.2% annualized yield.

Visteon Corporation (NASDAQ:VC - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to an overweight rating. The stock had previously closed at $113.81, but opened at $123.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now has a $165.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $108.00. Visteon shares last traded at $125.4310, with a volume of 99,242 shares trading hands.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on VC. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Visteon from $106.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Visteon from $112.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on Visteon from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays raised Visteon from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Visteon from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $132.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Seungkyung Kim sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.96, for a total value of $71,376.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 389 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,275.44. The trade was a 60.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Robert R. Vallance sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.40, for a total value of $119,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 17,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,085,798.60. The trade was a 5.41% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 58,901 shares of company stock worth $6,699,220. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Visteon

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Visteon by 389.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 21,992 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,707,000 after acquiring an additional 17,497 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Visteon by 31.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 249,564 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,371,000 after acquiring an additional 59,764 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in Visteon by 1.3% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 6,862 shares of the company's stock worth $706,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in Visteon by 43.0% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 16,833 shares of the company's stock worth $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 5,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Visteon in the second quarter worth $1,150,000. 99.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Visteon Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.25, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.26. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $111.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.16.

Visteon (NASDAQ:VC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.96 by ($0.31). The company had revenue of $954.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $901.33 million. Visteon had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 15.93%. Visteon's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Visteon Corporation will post 8.54 EPS for the current year.

Visteon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Visteon's dividend payout ratio is 18.27%.

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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