Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Short Interest Up 7.3% in October

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 99,650,000 shares, an increase of 7.3% from the September 30th total of 92,910,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 56,380,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Ford Motor

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ford Motor during the 1st quarter worth about $139,000. Claro Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ford Motor by 12.5% in the first quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 14,686 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 1,626 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Ford Motor by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 9,375,847 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $124,511,000 after buying an additional 51,035 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ford Motor in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,593,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Ford Motor by 27.3% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 89,915 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after acquiring an additional 19,256 shares during the last quarter. 58.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ford Motor Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of F stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $10.24. 29,646,313 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,669,633. The stock has a market cap of $40.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.62. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.63. Ford Motor has a fifty-two week low of $9.49 and a fifty-two week high of $14.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $46.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.39 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Ford Motor will post 1.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ford Motor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.86%. Ford Motor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on F shares. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Ford Motor from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $16.00 to $12.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Ford Motor from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Ford Motor from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of Ford Motor in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Ford Motor to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ford Motor currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.41.

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.