Ford Stock (NYSE:F) Posts Small Gain After Unexpected Shutdown on Explorers

The Ford Explorer might be one of the biggest developments at legacy automaker Ford (F) since the Mustang, or even the Model T. It represented a fundamental change in the way people bought cars that is still reflected today. And recently, the Ford Explorer found its production halted for want of one very important and very unlikely nail. That revelation did not slow down Ford shareholders, though, as they gave shares a fractional boost in Thursday afternoon’s trading.

The nail in question? Magnets. Reports noted that a Ford factory in Chicago that specializes in Ford Explorers had to briefly shut down after a supplier could not get Ford a needed load of small magnets. The magnets in question, as it turns out, were Chinese-made. Though the shutdown did not last long, reports noted, it was still enough to shut things down for a while. Production, however, started up again just recently.

This news comes at a bad time for Ford, as it turns out that Ford dealers have a lot fewer Explorers on their lots than they—or their customers—would like. Generally, dealers like to keep a 60-day supply on hand, with 15 days in transit, at any given time to ensure that there is a car ready for the most customers. But Ford dealers had just 48 days’ worth of Explorers on hand to kick off May, and when you throw in that brief production slowdown, that might cause a hiccup going into July sales. That could be a problem, given Fourth of July sales events.

One For the Marketing Team

Meanwhile, in a move that could well offer some benefits for the Ford marketing operations, new reports emerged that one of Ford’s top names—John Lawler, the vice-chair of Ford’s board of directors—has a specific car as his daily driver of choice: the Ford Mustang Mach-E.

This effort may change some minds, especially given that Lawler is almost certainly driving this daily driver on Michigan roads in the wintertime, which can be a terrible combination for electric vehicles. Couple enhanced demand on the battery—it has to run not only the engine but also the heating system—with an environment that reduces battery charge and it could be a recipe for trouble. But Lawler seems to have no trouble here, despite noting that “range anxiety” is a problem that requires pre-planning trips to work around effectively.

Is Ford Stock a Good Buy Right Now?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on F stock based on two Buys, 12 Holds and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 13.59% loss in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $9.71 per share implies 4.66% downside risk.

See more F analyst ratings

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