Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Trading Down 2.7% – Time to Sell?

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F)’s share price traded down 2.7% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $13.02 and last traded at $13.0320. 68,821,327 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 12% from the average session volume of 61,403,168 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.40.

Key Headlines Impacting Ford Motor

Here are the key news stories impacting Ford Motor this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ford Energy signed a five-year framework agreement with EDF power solutions North America to supply up to 20 GWh of battery energy storage systems, opening a new revenue stream and validating Ford’s push into energy infrastructure. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Ford detailed a new European growth strategy, including seven new models by 2029 and smarter software/services offerings, which could help revive passenger car sales and defend commercial vehicle market share. WSJ article
• Positive Sentiment: The market is rewarding Ford’s broader pivot toward software, services, and energy infrastructure, which could improve the company’s long-term growth profile and support a higher valuation. Business Wire article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts continue to rate Ford mostly as a “Hold,” suggesting the recent move is driven more by strategic optimism than by a fundamental shift in near-term earnings forecasts. American Banking News article
• Negative Sentiment: Ford still faces execution risk, including the long timeline before energy-storage revenue becomes material and ongoing pressure from Chinese rivals in Europe, where its passenger-car business has been struggling. Reuters article

Analysts Set New Price Targets

F has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ford Motor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ford Motor from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Ford Motor from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ford Motor currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.56.

Ford Motor Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $51.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.65. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $12.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.01.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The auto manufacturer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $43.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.66 billion. Ford Motor had a negative net margin of 3.22% and a positive return on equity of 15.77%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.14 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Ford Motor Company will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ford Motor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. Ford Motor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -38.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ford Motor news, insider William Clay Ford, Jr. bought 140,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.82 per share, for a total transaction of $1,934,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,912,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,072,132. This trade represents a 3.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ford Motor

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in F. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ford Motor during the fourth quarter worth about $674,437,000. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Ford Motor in the third quarter valued at approximately $299,000,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Ford Motor by 81.1% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 35,438,722 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $423,847,000 after acquiring an additional 15,866,285 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ford Motor by 610.1% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,177,304 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $146,646,000 after acquiring an additional 9,603,267 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Ford Motor by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 38,153,383 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $500,572,000 after acquiring an additional 8,086,564 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.74% of the company’s stock.

About Ford Motor

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is an American multinational automaker headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan. Founded by Henry Ford in 1903, the company became an early pioneer of mass-production techniques with the Model T and the adoption of the moving assembly line. Today, Ford designs, manufactures, markets and services a broad range of vehicles and mobility solutions under the Ford and Lincoln brands, spanning passenger cars, SUVs, pickup trucks and commercial vehicles.

Ford’s business activities extend beyond vehicle production to include parts and aftermarket services, fleet and commercial sales, and automotive financing through Ford Motor Credit Company.