Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Short Interest Update

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 161,210,000 shares, an increase of 37.1% from the January 31st total of 117,580,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 67,550,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Approximately 4.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of F. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Ford Motor in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Ford Motor during the 4th quarter valued at about $19,215,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Ford Motor in the fourth quarter worth approximately $104,000. Yoffe Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ford Motor in the fourth quarter worth approximately $101,000. Finally, LifeWealth Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ford Motor during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $169,000. 58.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on F. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Ford Motor from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Ford Motor from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $12.00 to $9.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Ford Motor from $19.00 to $15.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays cut Ford Motor from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $13.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Ford Motor to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ford Motor currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.89.

Ford Motor Stock Performance

Shares of F stock opened at $9.39 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $37.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.63. Ford Motor has a one year low of $9.10 and a one year high of $14.85. The company’s 50-day moving average is $9.76 and its 200 day moving average is $10.41.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.04. Ford Motor had a net margin of 3.18% and a return on equity of 16.88%. Sell-side analysts expect that Ford Motor will post 1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ford Motor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.39%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Ford Motor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.10%.

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.