It’s a strange day when news of better sales can’t light a fire under stock prices. But that’s just what happened to Ford (NYSE:F) as it announced word of demand for its truck line. Despite demand up significantly against this time last year, Ford still lost fractionally in Wednesday afternoon trading.
Ford revealed that demand for trucks was on a tear, selling 500,504 units just in the third quarter alone. That represented a 7.7% jump just since the third quarter of 2022 and was partially assisted by sales of Ford’s new electric pickup, the F-150 Lightning. The Lightning sold 3,503 units by itself, which isn’t much in raw numbers, but percentage-wise, it’s at least a part of the process. The F-series added an extra 13.4%, and overall truck sales were up 15.3%. In an unexpected downside, SUV sales slipped 0.3% against last year’s third quarter, dropping to a still-healthy 194,723 units overall.
This comes amid a major strike still impacting all the major automakers out there. Ford, however, seems to be working to bring about a solution as quickly as it can and, as such, offered up its latest agreement to the UAW. This is the seventh offer it’s made, and features “unprecedented improvement in wages” as well as “product commitments for every UAW factory and job security.” Reports note that the new contract would put UAW workers among the top 25% of all U.S. workers by pay, both hourly and salaried.
Is Ford a Buy, Sell, or Hold Stock?
Meanwhile, analysts are still on Ford’s side here. Ford stock is currently consensus-rated as Moderate Buy, supported by seven Buy ratings, eight Holds, and one Sell. Further, Ford stock offers investors 28.52% upside potential thanks to its average price target of $15.41.
