Ford shares close lower on Tuesday, auto maker to invest over $300 million in electric car part production at UK facility

Ford Motor Company (F) said earlier this week that it would invest up to GBP 230 million ($316 million) in the production of electric car components at its facility in Halewood in northern England.

That facility is expected to manufacture about 250,000 power units each year from mid-2024 and will be the first European in-house location to produce electric vehicle parts for the US auto maker.

Ford has already pledged to make its European car line-up all-electric by 2030.

Ford, which has nearly 500 workers at Halewood, has chosen the facility because of ”its excellent record on quality, competitiveness and the strong skills base and commitment of the employees,” it said.

The British government has tended to provide about 10% of the total investment value for auto makers in relation with their electrification initiatives through its Automotive Transformation Fund.

Ford shares closed lower for a second consecutive trading session in New York on Tuesday. It has also been the steepest single-session loss since October 6th. The stock went down 0.90% ($0.14) to $15.42, after touching an intraday low at $15.37. The latter has been a price level not seen since October 14th ($15.37).

Shares of Ford Motor Company have risen 75.43% so far in 2021 compared with a 20.33% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2020, Ford Motor Co’s stock went down 5.48%, thus, it underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 16.26% gain.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to TipRanks, at least 4 out of 9 surveyed investment analysts had rated Ford Motor Company’s stock as “Buy”, while other 4 – as “Hold”. The median price target on the stock stands at $15.48.