Ford Motor Company (F) made headlines this week as F stock reported 1.2% vehicle sales for December and it increased its dividend.
2014 was a tough year for Ford, but will 2015 be its big comeback year?
Ford – Company Profile
Ford Motor Company is the quintessential story of American ingenuity. At the turn of the 20th century, Henry Ford perfected the assembly line and introduced the Model T to the American economy. And, the rest, they say is history.
Over a century later, Ford has grown to be the second largest automaker in the U.S. and the fifth largest in the world. In addition to its namesake brand, Ford also sells luxury cars under the Lincoln name.
With 181,000 full-time employees worldwide, F stock brought in nearly $147 billion in sales last year.
Ford – Dividend Buzz
Yesterday, Ford announced that the company’s board of director’s declared a dividend of 15 cents per share on common and outstanding Class B stock. This is a 20% increase from last year’s quarterly dividend payment of 12.5 cents per share.
During 2015, Ford’s overall plan is to create a robust balance sheet and provide solid returns to shareholders. The dividend is payable on Mar. 2 to shareholders of record on Jan. 30.
Ford – Current Ratings
At a glance, Ford has been a mixed bag when it comes to ratings, going back and forth between “hold” and “sell” over the past year. It’s not a surprise, considering F stock currently receives D for its Quantitative Grade.
Ford’s fundamental metrics are lackluster, with only a handful of strong grades for cash flow (A), return on equity (A), and operating margin growth (B). The areas that F stock still needs to work on are sales growth (D), earnings growth (C), earnings momentum (D), earnings surprises (C) and analyst earnings revisions (D).
Averaging together these eight fundamental metrics, Ford receives a C for its Fundamental Grade. As of this posting, Jan. 9, I consider Ford a D-rated “sell.”
Louis Navellier is a renowned growth investor. He is the editor of five investing newsletters: Blue Chip Growth, Emerging Growth, Ultimate Growth, Family Trust and Platinum Growth. His most popular service, Blue Chip Growth, has a track record of beating the market 3:1 over the last 14 years. He uses a combination of quantitative and fundamental analysis to identify market-beating stocks. Mr. Navellier has made his proven formula accessible to investors via his free, online stock rating tool, PortfolioGrader.com. Louis Navellier may hold some of the aforementioned securities in one or more of his newsletters.
