Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Shares Down 0.9% – Should You Sell?

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) shares fell 0.9% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $9.75 and last traded at $9.79. 12,167,242 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 54,266,758 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on F shares. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Ford Motor from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $11.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Ford Motor from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $12.00 to $9.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ford Motor from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered Ford Motor from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $16.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of Ford Motor in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.83.

Ford Motor Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $39.82 billion, a PE ratio of 11.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $10.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.02. Ford Motor had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 16.16%. The business had revenue of $46.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ford Motor will post 1.81 EPS for the current year.

Ford Motor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.99%. Ford Motor’s payout ratio is currently 68.18%.

Institutional Trading of Ford Motor

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Ford Motor during the second quarter worth $27,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Ford Motor in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ford Motor during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ford Motor during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Ford Motor in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. 58.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.