Ford shares close lower on Friday, 547 538 Super Duty pickup trucks to be recalled in North America

Ford Motor Company (F) announced on Friday a recall of 547 538 of its Super Duty pickup trucks in the United States, Canada and Mexico due to heightened risk of post-crash interior fire.

Ford shares closed lower for the fifth time in the past ten trading sessions in New York on Friday. It has also been the steepest daily loss since December 3rd. The stock went down 0.97% ($0.09) to $9.23, after touching an intraday high at $9.38, or a price level not seen since September 27th ($9.60).

Shares of Ford Motor Company have risen 20.65% so far in 2019 compared with a 26.41% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2018, Ford Motor Co’s stock went down 38.75%, thus, it again underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 6.24% loss.

The affected vehicles’ front seat belt pretensioner, which is deployed in case of a crash, could generate excessive sparks and possibly start a fire, the auto maker said.

The affected vehicles were manufactured at the company’s Kentucky truck facility between October 8th 2015 and October 29th 2019, Ford also said.

The recall is to affect 490 574 vehicles in the United States, 56 112 vehicles in Canada and 852 vehicles in Mexico.

The auto maker said that there was one report of fire in the United States associated with the above mentioned issue.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to CNN Money, the 15 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Ford Motor Company’s stock price, have a median target of $10.00, with a high estimate of $13.00 and a low estimate of $8.00. The median estimate represents an 8.34% upside compared to the closing price of $9.23 on December 13th.

The same media also reported that at least 11 out of 18 surveyed investment analysts had rated Ford Motor Company’s stock as “Hold”, while 5 – as “Buy”. On the other hand, 1 analyst had recommended selling the stock.