Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) Stock Price

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has raised its price target for Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) from $126.00 to $132.00, suggesting a potential upside of 7.19% from its current stock price.
• Multiple analysts have provided revised ratings for Autoliv, with two analysts rating it as a Strong Buy and others varying from Buy to Hold, reflecting a consensus price target of approximately $125.75.
• Autoliv's recent quarterly earnings report showed earnings per share of $2.21, exceeding estimates, while revenue increased by 4.2% year-over-year, reaching $2.71 billion.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $126.00 to $132.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the auto parts company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target would suggest a potential upside of 7.19% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on ALV. Wall Street Zen upgraded Autoliv from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Autoliv from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Autoliv from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Autoliv from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $135.00 target price (up previously from $105.00) on shares of Autoliv in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Autoliv currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $125.75.

Autoliv Stock Down 1.4%

NYSE:ALV traded down $1.72 on Thursday, hitting $123.14. 57,156 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 770,301. Autoliv has a 52 week low of $75.49 and a 52 week high of $127.89. The company has a market cap of $9.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $120.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.12.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The auto parts company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.14. Autoliv had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 6.83%.The firm had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.87 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Autoliv will post 9.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 4th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the auto parts company to reacquire up to 31.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Autoliv

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALV. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Autoliv by 418.3% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,483,726 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $219,686,000 after purchasing an additional 2,004,515 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Autoliv during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $110,368,000. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Autoliv by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,397,735 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $268,307,000 after purchasing an additional 499,411 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Autoliv by 334.1% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 644,818 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $72,155,000 after purchasing an additional 496,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its position in Autoliv by 83.3% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,020,082 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $114,147,000 after purchasing an additional 463,449 shares during the last quarter. 69.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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