Ford shares close lower on Wednesday, auto maker reports 21% year-on-year slump in US vehicle sales in November

Ford Motor Co (F) reported on Wednesday a 20.9% year-on-year slump in its total vehicle sales in the United States to 149,931 units in November.

Last month Ford’s truck sales plummeted 20.9% year-on-year to 78,630 units, car sales plunged 39.1% year-on-year to 11,037 units, while sales of SUVs went down 16.4% year-on-year to 60,264 vehicles.

Ford shares closed lower for the fourth time in the past ten trading sessions in New York on Wednesday. The stock went down 0.43% ($0.04) to $9.20, after touching an intraday low at $9.08, or a price level not seen since November 30th ($8.98).

Shares of Ford Motor Company have retreated 1.08% so far in 2020 compared with a 13.56% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2019, Ford Motor Co’s stock went up 21.57%, thus, it again underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 28.88% gain.

Sales of Ford Explorer surged 21.9% to a total of 18,848 units in November from a year ago, the company said.

Ford also reported its first sales of the 2021 Bronco Sport amid a transition from cars to Sport-utility vehicles.

Meanwhile, Fusion and Fiesta sales continued to shrink in November.

Sales of F-Series plunged 27.2% year-on-year to 52,698 vehicles last month, affected by “lower inventories attributed to the lingering effects of the Q2 coronavirus production stoppage combined with the transition to the all-new F-150.”

“Super Duty sales produced a strong gain in November with sales up 7.5 percent. F-150 inventory continued to tighten as we moved through our Q4 changeover to the all-new F-150,” Mark LaNeve, Ford’s Vice President, US Marketing, Sales and Service, said in a press release.

“This was a result of coronavirus-related production stoppages in Q2 and a strong sell-down of the current model F-150. Dealers are really looking forward to the 2021 F-150, which is now in transit, as well as Bronco Sport and the all-new Mustang Mach-E,” LaNeve added.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to CNN Money, the 15 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Ford Motor Company’s stock price, have a median target of $9.00, with a high estimate of $11.00 and a low estimate of $7.50. The median estimate represents a 2.17% downside compared to the closing price of $9.20 on December 2nd.

The same media also reported that at least 13 out of 17 surveyed investment analysts had rated Ford Motor Company’s stock as “Hold”, while 4 – as “Buy”.