How Are Analysts Rating Ford Stock in February 2018?

According to the data compiled by Reuters, as of February 20, 2018, only 13% of analysts covering Ford Motor Company (F) stock have given it “buy” recommendations. Most (79%) have recommended “holds” on the stock, while the remainder (8%) have suggested “sells.”

The above-mentioned stock recommendations are based on the consensus of the 24 analysts covering Ford currently. About a month ago, a higher percentage (17%) of these analysts were suggesting “buys” on Ford stock.

On February 20, 2018, Ford’s consensus 12-month target price was $12.20. This target price reflected a 14.8% upside potential from its market price of $10.63.

Notably, Ford stock turned negative in January and witnessed an ~11.2% value erosion. In 4Q17, the stock also inched up by 4.3%. In comparison, this was lower than the 6.1% rise in the S&P 500 Index.

In 4Q17, Ford reported a YoY (year-over-year) increase in its net profits. The company’s adjusted EPS (earnings per share) were $0.39, ~30% higher than its adjusted EPS of $0.30 in 4Q16. During its fourth-quarter earnings event, Ford’s management also gave dismal guidance for 2018. According to the guidance, the company’s adjusted EPS could be in the range of $1.45–$1.70, lower than its adjusted EPS of $1.78 in 2017.

In January 2018, Ford’s US sales fell despite industrywide strength in sales. The company reported a 6.6% YoY fall in its January US market sales.

Note that auto companies (IYK) including Ford, Toyota Motor (TM), General Motors (GM), and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCAU) make a large portion of their revenues from the US market.

In the next article, we’ll look at analysts’ recommendations for Tesla (TSLA) in February 2018.