In a tribute to the resilience of investors at legacy automaker Ford (F), Ford announced yet another new recall that would see close to one million vehicles impacted. This time, the recalls target a faulty fuel pump. But that left investors almost disturbingly unfazed, and they sent shares up fractionally in Thursday afternoon’s trading.
Elevate Your Investing Strategy:
- Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence.
- Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week.
The new recall covers 850,318 cars in the Ford and Lincoln family, as the low-pressure fuel pump can fail while in use. In such an event, the car can stall, reports note. Should the engine stall while the driver is operating the vehicle—noted a report filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration—the odds of a crash increase accordingly. Ford offered some warning signs to watch for, including “…misfiring or running rough…” A loss of engine power could also come into play, as could a “check engine” light.
Ford also indicated that warm weather was more likely to exacerbate fuel pump problems, as were low fuel levels. Anything that prompted “…hot fuel conditions in the fuel tank…” increased the likelihood of pump failure. Worse yet, Ford has no actual remedy in line for this yet. It plans to mail a round of letters to impacted drivers when a remedy actually exists.
Backing Up Texas
Yet Ford is also out to do some good in the world, and the recent Texas flood disaster has Ford packing up to head down and lend what hand they can. Ford, along with its Texas dealerships and the Ford Philanthropy group, has pledged $1.25 million in support to local charities. Good news, but it gets better, and more personal, from there.
Ford is offering loaner vehicles to the American Red Cross to help people and services get where they need to be. Ford employees and dealers will pack food boxes at the North Texas Food Bank on July 17, and Ford Credit and Lincoln Automotive Financial Services will offer up to 60 days of payment extensions to those with loans through Ford or Lincoln who have been impacted by the storm.
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 12.18% loss in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $9.82 per share implies 17.31% downside risk.
