Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Trading Down 1.1% – Should You Sell?

Ford Motor (NYSE:F)’s share price was down 1.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $9.42 and last traded at $9.55. Approximately 33,505,312 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 81,739,445 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.65.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

F has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Ford Motor from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $12.00 to $9.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Ford Motor from $19.00 to $15.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Ford Motor in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ford Motor from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut 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 note on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.77.

Ford Motor Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.38. The company has a market capitalization of $39.26 billion, a PE ratio of 6.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Ford Motor will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ford Motor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.06%. Ford Motor’s payout ratio is currently 41.10%.

Institutional Trading of Ford Motor

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ford Motor in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Probity Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Ford Motor by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 33,055 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 5,193 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ford Motor during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Ford Motor during the fourth quarter worth about $19,215,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Ford Motor in the 4th quarter valued at about $104,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.74% of the company’s stock.

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.