Yahoo Finance Ford Motor’s China Vehicle Sales Rebound 3% in June Quarter as Coronavirus Restrictions Ease
Ford Motor Co, an American multinational automaker, said that its vehicle sales in mainland China rebounded in the June quarter, growing 3% from the same period last year, driven by strong demand following the lifting of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
That would be the first time in nearly three years, the automaker has registered a rise in quarterly sales. Total of 158,589 vehicles were sold during the second quarter, representing a 3% growth year-over-year and 78.7% sales increase compared to the first quarter of 2020.
Transit commercial vehicles experienced solid y/y growth of 60.9%, as did Lincoln luxury vehicles on gains of 12.0%, the company said. In the U.S., where business has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, Ford’s sales fell more than 30% during the quarter.
On the other hand, Ford’s rival, General Motors’ sales declined 5.3% during the quarter in the world’s second-largest economy. Ford’s sales plunged 26% in 2019 and 37% in 2018.
Ford outlook and price target
Eleven analysts forecast the average price in 12 months at $6.24 with a high forecast of $8.00 and a low forecast of $3.50. The average price target represents a 2.46% increase from the last price of $6.09. From that eleven, three analysts rated ‘Buy’, six rated ‘Hold’ and two rated ‘Sell’, according to Tipranks.
Morgan Stanley target price is $8 with a high of $12 under a bull scenario and $4 under the worst-case scenario. Ford Motor had its price target lifted by UBS Group from $4.30 to $6.70. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the auto manufacturer’s stock. JP Morgan raised the target price to $7 from $6. Ford Motor was given a $7.50 price target by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group Inc. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.
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Analyst view
“We raise our 2020 Ford EPS forecast to ($0.90) vs. our prior forecast of ($1.30), while for 2021 and 2022 our EPS rises to positive $0.75 and $1.25 vs. our prior forecast of $0.30 and $0.80 respectively. On our revised price target of $8, Ford trades at just over 10x our 2021E EPS. Currently, the stock trades at just over 9x our revised 2021 EPS forecast,” Adam Jonas, equity analyst at Morgan Stanley noted in June.
“We raise our 3Q N. American Ford volume forecast to negative 12% Y/Y vs. down 15% previously. Our 4Q volume is revised to down 3% vs. down 5% previously. This slight upward adjustment reflects stronger than expected US SAAR, a rebound in used vehicle prices, and more supportive auto credit vs. our prior forecasts,” he added.
This article was originally posted on FX Empire
