It would be easy to look at that headline and wonder what exactly is going on here. I re-read that headline a couple times myself, baffled by what I was about to write. But indeed, legacy automaker Ford (F) recently found the sale of an F-250 Super Duty pickup entirely stymied by a matter of federal law related to songbirds. Investors, however, took the loss of that one pickup wholly in stride, and sent shares up over 1.5% in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
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Out in Olathe, Kansas sits the ground of Olathe Ford, a Ford dealership much like any other. And one day, it was about to sell a Ford F-250. This was good news, especially given that the Ford F-Series is starting to see some inventory problems thanks to at least two major fires at Novelis, Ford’s main aluminum supplier. Anyway, the deal was about to get done when someone looked closer at the pickup’s wheel well, and found a robin’s nest.
This might not mean so much—grab hold of the nest and toss it out, maybe set it somewhere safe to avoid unnecessary cruelty—but it turns out that robins and their “active nests” are protected by federal law. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 stepped in, and basically made it impossible for the dealership to relocate the nest. The buyer of the truck cannot legally drive it off the lot until the birds have moved on of their own accord.
Whither ST?
There are also concerns that an entire brand of Ford vehicles may be an endangered species in and of itself. Specifically, the Ford ST lineup is looking a bit threadbare these days, with only two of these—the Explorer ST and the Puma ST—still available. And the Puma ST is starting to look a bit more “diluted” these days. The Explorer ST, though, is doing quite well at last report.
There are growing calls for a return of the ST brand, especially in Europe, where they want to see the ST brand attached to electric vehicles. With some seemingly convinced that the Fiesta may make a comeback, the idea of a Fiesta ST may not be out of line.
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, nine Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 24.62% rally in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $13.50 per share implies 2.04% downside risk.
