Shares of Ford Motor Company (F) marked their best daily performance in three weeks yesterday, after the auto maker reported better-than-anticipated third-quarter earnings, with sales of high-margin pickup trucks in the United States being the main driving factor. The company also announced plans for tests of autonomous vehicles in some cities in 2018 without disclosing details.
Ford shares closed higher for the third time in the past six trading sessions on Thursday. It has also been the steepest daily surge since October 3rd. The stock went up 1.91% ($0.23) to $12.27, after touching an intraday high at $12.33, or a price level not seen since October 18th ($12.35).
In the week ended on October 22nd the shares of the global automotive company added 0.41% to their market value compared to a week ago, which marked the eighth gain out of nine weeks.
The stock has extended its advance to 2.51% so far during the current month, following an 8.52% surge in September. The latter has been the best monthly performance since October 2015.
For the entire past year, the shares of the NYSE-listed company lost 13.91%. However, the stock has rebounded 1.15% so far in 2017.
Fords net income rose to $1.56 billion ($0.39 per share) during the third quarter from $960 million ($0.24 per share) during the same period a year ago.
The companys earnings per share, excluding special items, were reported at $0.43 during the past quarter, which exceeded the median analyst estimate ($0.32 per share).
Fords F-Series pickup trucks accounted for a large part of its net income during the quarter, with the average transaction price for these vehicles surging by $2 800 to $45 400.
According to the largest US auto maker, its margin in North America increased to 8.1% during the third quarter from 5.8% during the same period a year ago.
At the same time, Fords total revenue went up to $36.45 billion last quarter from $35.94 billion in the year ago quarter.
Excluding the United States, Asia Pacific turned out to be the only other region to generate profit during the latest quarter, with earnings there being supported primarily by higher sales outside China.
According to Bob Shanks, Fords Chief Financial Officer, the companys sales volumes, market share as well as margins all shrank in China.
On the other hand, Ford revised up its full-year 2017 earnings forecast to a range of $1.75-$1.85 per share from a range of $1.65-$1.85 previously.
According to CNN Money, the 23 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Ford Motor Company’s stock price, have a median target of $12.30, with a high estimate of $17.00 and a low estimate of $9.00. The median estimate is a 0.24% surge compared to the closing price of $12.27 on October 26th.
The same media also reported that 17 out of 25 surveyed investment analysts had rated Ford Motor Company’s stock as “Hold”, while 5 – as “Buy”. On the other hand, 2 analysts had recommended selling the stock.
Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels
With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, today’s levels of importance for the Ford stock are presented as follows:
R1 – $12.29
R2 – $12.32
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $12.34
R4 (Long Breakout) – $12.42
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $12.51
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $12.54
S1 – $12.25
S2 – $12.22
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $12.20
S4 (Short Breakout) – $12.12
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $12.03
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $12.00
By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Ford Motor Company (F) are presented as follows:
Central Pivot Point – $12.14
R1 – $12.31
R2 – $12.53
R3 – $12.70
R4 – $12.88
S1 – $11.92
S2 – $11.75
S3 – $11.53
S4 – $11.32
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