Ford Motor
F
has projected a 12% fall in sales in the United States this year due to worsening production tailbacks, per a report by Automotive News.
It has been reported that dealers have been recently warned of a sharp decline in U.S. deliveries to 1.66 million vehicles this year, down from 1.9 million in 2021. The automaker has already lost 100,000 units of production after 37 suppliers failed to provide parts in the specific timeline.
The ongoing chip crisis has triggered shortages that have hit Ford and are likely to continue in the near term. Last month, it stated that it might get off to a slow start in 2022 due to these pressing issues.
Moreover, dealers won’t receive any new vehicle retail allocations until the end of May 2022, leaving showrooms empty during the spring season sale.
However, Ford is yet to confirm the report.
In a separate news, Ford will collaborate with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (“PG&E”) in California to gauge the bi-directional charging capabilities of the electric F-150 Lightning to power homes and return energy to the power grid. The plans were announced very recently at the CERAWeek energy conference in Texas. The F-150 Lightning’s backup power is expected to be first used in spring, supported by Sunrun Inc. as the automaker’s preferred installation partner.
The bi-directional feature allows electric vehicles (EVs) to charge at night when rates are low and potentially provide energy back to the grid during peak hours. This saves customers’ money and reduces grid load.
PG&E will explore ways in which Ford’s technology interconnects with the electric grid and customers’ homes.
Ford’s shares have rallied 21.5% over the past year against the
industry
’s 16.9% decline.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Currently, F has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Better-ranked players in the auto space include
Harley-Davidson
HOG
LCI Industries
LCII
and
Tesla
TSLA
, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), currently. You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here
.
Harley-Davidson has an expected earnings growth rate of 1.9% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has been revised around 21.7% upward in the past 60 days.
Harley-Davison’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the trailing four quarters. HOG pulled off a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 77.59%, on average. The stock has rallied 1.8% over the past year.
LCI Industries has an expected earnings growth rate of 27.8% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has been revised around 16% upward in the past 60 days.
LCI Industries’ earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed the same in the other one. LCII pulled off a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 12.86%, on average. The stock has declined 21.4% over the past year.
Tesla has an expected earnings growth rate of 40.7% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has been revised around 14.8% upward in the past 60 days.
Tesla’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all of the trailing four quarters. TSLA pulled off a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 33.26%, on average. The stock has rallied 12.4% over the past year.
Just Released: Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2022
In addition to the investment ideas discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 top buy-and-hold tickers for the entirety of 2022?
Last year’s 2021
Zacks Top 10 Stocks
portfolio returned gains as high as +147.7%. Now a brand-new portfolio has been handpicked from over 4,000 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. Don’t miss your chance to get in on these long-term buys
Access Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2022 today >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.
Click to get this free report