Ford shares close higher on Friday, production at Hermosillo plant in Mexico to be suspended for two days on material shortage

Production at Ford Motor Co’s (F) Hermosillo plant in Mexico will be temporarily suspended on October 11th and October 12th due to a shortage of material, the facility’s labor union said last week. However, it did not become clear which materials were in short supply.

Plant workers will receive 75% of their salaries on those particular days, Ford added.

Earlier this month, the US auto maker had said that production at its facility in Flat Rock, Michigan, as well as at parts of its Kansas City plant would be suspended.

The announcement comes at a time when other auto makers are still facing a chips shortage as manufacturers shifted production toward parts required for laptop computers, cell phones and video games during the pandemic.

Ford shares closed higher for a second consecutive trading session in New York on Friday. The stock went up 1.54% ($0.23) to $15.12, after touching an intraday high at $15.49. The latter has been a price level not seen since June 25th ($15.52).

Shares of Ford Motor Company have risen 72.01% so far in 2021 compared with a 16.91% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2020, Ford Motor Co’s stock went down 5.48%, thus, it underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 16.26% gain.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to TipRanks, at least 5 out of 9 surveyed investment analysts had rated Ford Motor Company’s stock as “Buy”, while 3 – as “Hold”. The median price target on the stock stands at $15.59.