Ford shares rebound on Tuesday, auto maker invests $82 million to expand production capacity at Vietnam plant

Ford Motor Co (F) revealed plans to invest $82 million to expand annual production capacity at its facility in northern Vietnam to 40 000 vehicles from the current capacity level of 14 000 vehicles per year.

Ford shares closed higher for the fifth time in the past ten trading sessions in New York on Tuesday. The stock went up 0.54% ($0.05) to $9.29, after touching an intraday high at $9.33, or a price level not seen since January 10th ($9.36).

Shares of Ford Motor Company have retreated 0.11% so far in 2020 compared with a 1.62% 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.

The new investment is to bring the total amount invested in Vietnam by Ford to over $200 million. The additional investment is to be made in two stages over a period of two years, starting in 2020, the auto maker said.

The facility is to be expanded across an additional 60 000 square meters of land, which would bring the total area to 226 000 square meters, Ford said.

Founded in 1995, Ford Vietnam reported a 31% surge in vehicle sales in 2019 from a year ago to 32 175 units.

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 13.02% upside compared to the closing price of $9.29 on January 14th.

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.