Ford shares fall for a second straight session on Monday, total vehicle sales in China shrink 26% in 2019

Ford Motor Co (F) reported a third straight year of declining vehicle sales in China in 2019. Its total vehicle sales went down 26.1% compared to 2018 to 567,854 vehicles.

Ford’s total sales in China plummeted 37% in 2018 and another 6% in 2017.

Ford shares closed lower for a second consecutive trading session in New York on Monday. The stock went down 0.11% ($0.01) to $9.24, after touching an intraday low at $9.12, or a price level not seen since January 7th ($9.12).

Shares of Ford Motor Company have retreated 0.65% so far in 2020 compared with a 1.78% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2019, Ford Motor Co’s stock went up 21.57%, thus, it again underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 28.88% gain.

Ford’s fourth-quarter vehicle deliveries in China shrank 14.7% year-on-year to 146,473 units, the US company said in a statement.

According to Anning Chen, president and chief executive of Ford Greater China, despite that last year was a “challenging” one for Ford, the company’s market share in the high-to-premium segment stabilized.

“The pressure from the external environment and downward trend of the industry volume will continue in 2020, and we will put more efforts into strengthening our product lineup with more customer-centric products and customer experiences to mitigate the external pressure and improve dealers’ profitability,” Chen was quoted as saying by Reuters.

The US auto maker intends to release over 30 new models in China over the upcoming three years, more than a third of which are expected to be electric vehicles.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to CNN Money, the 14 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Ford Motor Company’s stock price, have a median target of $10.50, with a high estimate of $13.00 and a low estimate of $8.00. The median estimate represents a 13.64% upside compared to the closing price of $9.24 on January 13th.

The same media also reported that at least 8 out of 17 surveyed investment analysts had rated Ford Motor Company’s stock as “Hold”, while 6 – as “Buy”. On the other hand, 2 analysts had recommended selling the stock.