Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Short Interest Update

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 122,150,000 shares, a drop of 5.6% from the May 31st total of 129,450,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 47,900,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently, 3.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on F shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ford Motor from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Ford Motor in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $16.00 target price for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ford Motor from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Ford Motor from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Ford Motor from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.89.

Ford Motor Price Performance

NYSE F remained flat at $12.87 during trading hours on Wednesday. The company had a trading volume of 26,894,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 51,023,340. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $12.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Ford Motor has a 12 month low of $9.63 and a 12 month high of $15.42.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $42.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.93 billion. Ford Motor had a return on equity of 17.63% and a net margin of 2.21%. The business’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Ford Motor will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ford Motor Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.66%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 7th. Ford Motor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ford Motor news, Director Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. sold 81,234 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.09, for a total value of $982,119.06. Following the transaction, the director now owns 168,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,038,386.09. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Newport Trust Company LLC raised its stake in shares of Ford Motor by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 155,177,214 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,891,610,000 after acquiring an additional 6,667,808 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ford Motor by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 87,661,675 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $1,068,596,000 after purchasing an additional 269,887 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ford Motor by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 59,152,154 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $721,065,000 after buying an additional 3,522,965 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ford Motor in the fourth quarter valued at $475,899,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Ford Motor by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 27,314,520 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $333,014,000 after buying an additional 528,823 shares during the period. 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.