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

Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) saw a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,810,000 shares, a growth of 10.6% from the November 30th total of 2,540,000 shares. Currently, 3.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 785,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Autoliv Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of ALV stock traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $93.79. The company had a trading volume of 420,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 698,267. Autoliv has a 1-year low of $89.51 and a 1-year high of $129.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $7.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a 50 day moving average of $96.58 and a 200 day moving average of $98.65.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The auto parts company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. Autoliv had a return on equity of 30.85% and a net margin of 5.98%. Autoliv’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Autoliv will post 8.19 EPS for the current year.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. This is an increase from Autoliv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Autoliv’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Autoliv

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP raised its stake in Autoliv by 133.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 362 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Autoliv during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Autoliv by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 954 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in Autoliv during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $156,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in Autoliv during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $209,000. 69.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on ALV shares. Barclays cut their target price on Autoliv from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $116.00 target price on shares of Autoliv in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Autoliv from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Autoliv from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Autoliv from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Autoliv presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.46.

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.