Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) Short Interest Update

Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,790,000 shares, a decrease of 15.2% from the August 15th total of 3,290,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 854,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days. Approximately 3.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALV has been the subject of a number of research reports. BNP Paribas began coverage on Autoliv in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. StockNews.com lowered Autoliv from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Barclays reduced their price target on Autoliv from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $119.00 to $108.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Autoliv from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $102.00 to $141.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.79.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Autoliv in the first quarter valued at approximately $235,996,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Autoliv in the 4th quarter valued at $91,065,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Autoliv by 169.8% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 759,239 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $83,661,000 after purchasing an additional 477,800 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP raised its holdings in Autoliv by 121.9% during the first quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 686,622 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $82,690,000 after buying an additional 377,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Autoliv by 130.2% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 498,575 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $53,111,000 after buying an additional 281,956 shares in the last quarter. 69.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Autoliv Trading Down 1.4 %

Autoliv stock traded down $1.35 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $95.69. 385,198 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 661,333. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.77. Autoliv has a twelve month low of $89.37 and a twelve month high of $129.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.79 billion, a PE ratio of 15.14, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.60.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The auto parts company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.57). Autoliv had a return on equity of 30.05% and a net margin of 5.91%. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.93 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Autoliv will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Autoliv Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Autoliv’s payout ratio is presently 42.43%.

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.