Dana (NYSE:DAN) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Dana Incorporated (NYSE:DAN)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $8.88, but opened at $9.25. Dana shares last traded at $9.38, with a volume of 634,790 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Dana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Dana from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wolfe Research started coverage on Dana in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $12.00 price target on shares of Dana in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Dana from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.50.

Dana Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -80.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 2.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58.

Dana (NYSE:DAN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The auto parts company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.13). Dana had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 3.48%. The company had revenue of $2.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. Dana’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Dana Incorporated will post 0.85 EPS for the current year.

Dana Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Dana’s payout ratio is presently -363.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dana

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Dana during the third quarter valued at approximately $250,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Dana in the 2nd quarter valued at $388,000. Martingale Asset Management L P bought a new stake in Dana in the third quarter valued at $346,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in Dana during the third quarter worth $2,687,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Dana by 1.3% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 426,586 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $5,170,000 after acquiring an additional 5,468 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.79% of the company’s stock.

About Dana

Dana Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, provides power-conveyance and energy-management solutions for vehicles and machinery in North America, Europe, South America, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through four segments: Light Vehicle Drive Systems, Commercial Vehicle Drive and Motion Systems, Off-Highway Drive and Motion Systems, and Power Technologies.