The securities analysts as a group have decided that earnings prospects for Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) are mediocre. According to Yahoo! Finance, the mean recommendation among 20 analysts who cover Ford is 2.6, where 1 is a “strong buy” and 5 is a “sell.”
Bank of America and Credit Suisse are among those banks that have downgraded Ford this year. Bank of America’s rating is Neutral and Credit Suisse’s at Underperform.
The primary reason for concern is forecasts for the current quarter and the entire year. Revenue in this quarter is expected to rise 3% to $36.2 billion. For the full year, 2% to $143.3 billion.
Ford, like all global car companies, relies primarily on the EU, U.S. and Chinese markets.
China was a weak point for Ford last month. The company announced:
Ford’s year-to-date sales in China increased seven percent from 2015 with 391,294 vehicles sold. In April, Ford sold 82,324 vehicles, down 11 percent compared to April 2015.
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The U.S. sales were mediocre. Total sales for April were up 4% over the same period last year, to 231,316. Pickup sales were strong. Sales of the flagship F-150 were up 13% to 70,774. However, Ford brand cars sales fell 11.5% to 60,494. Fusion sales were particularly soft.
Ford’s most recently reported quarter should have calmed some nerves. Net income rose from $1.3 billion in the period a year ago to $2.5 billion. Ford’s shares are off 4.6% this year, and 15% over the past two years. The industry, and not just Ford, has begun to hit a slowing world car market.
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