Can the F-Series Pickup Keep Lifting Ford Stock?

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When it comes to pickup truck sales, Ford Motor (F) just keeps on delivering — and that’s good news for Ford stock investors.

Looking at the October metrics, Ford stock investors should be excited to see that sales of the company’s top-selling F-Series Ford pickups continued their amazing run. During the month, Ford sold 63,803 F-Series pickups. That’s 13% better than the same month a year ago, and the best October showing since 2004.

ford stockIn fact, Ford has sold an incredible 623,309 F-Series Ford pickup trucks so far this year — a number that is 20% bigger than over the same period last year.

It’s also the best first 10 months of a year since the pre-recession days of 2006, and a great sign for Ford stock moving forward.

Ford Stock Going Strong

It’s impressive for Ford, and for Ford stock going forward, that the company continues to best rivals General Motors (GM) and Fiat’s (FIATYChrysler in the pickup wars. You would think that, after outselling the competition over the past three decades, there would be at least a small bump in the road for the line of iconic Ford pickups. But if you thought that you’d be wrong.

What’s even more impressive is the fact that Ford is a far smaller company than GM, yet the F-Series still manages to outsell its rivals. So far this year, Ford is in the lead over GM by some 63,000 pickup trucks. And while not exactly a David vs. Goliath scenario, the leaner and meaner Ford does know how to make and keep its loyal customers buying — and thus keep Ford stock investors happy.

As for Ford stock, well, it’s also been super impressive. F stock shares are up nearly 30% year-to-date. If you would have bought the stock five years ago, you would be riding high with a 735% gain.

And Ford Stock Should Keep Revving

Now, of course, the question is whether Ford keep delivering outstanding F-Series sales, and whether Ford stock also keep revving higher.

I’m optimistic on both fronts.

On the sales front, Ford has put its trust in truck czar Doug Scott.

A recent article in The Wall Street Journal profiled Scott, whose official title is the subtle “truck group marketing manager.” At the core of Scott’s plan to keep Ford truck sales — and hopefully keep Ford stock revving — rolling is to give customers all sorts of choices when it comes to the F-series that’s right for them. That means stripped-down, lower-cost versions for small-business owners, beefed up off-road versions, high horsepower models and even luxury versions for the top 1% crowd, which interestingly is a demographic that is a big buyer of the F-Series.

The variety of offerings in the F-Series of pickup trucks also come at a wide range of prices, with no-frills models starting around $24,000, and high-end offerings going for north of $70,000. Basically, there’s an F-Series for every use, every budget and virtually every lifestyle.

By contrast, GM and Chrysler have far fewer model choices in their respective line of pickups. That’s changing, however, as GM recently introduced the next generation of its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups.

Still, Ford leads the way, and will likely continue to win the truck wars. That bodes well for Ford stock going forward, and that’s why I am a Ford bull.

At the time of this writing, Jim Woods was long F. He also uses F-Series pickups at his ranch in Southern California.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2013/11/ford-stock/.

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