Ford needs to cut costs

Article Excerpt

FORD MOTOR CO. $12 is still a hold. The automaker (New York symbol F; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 3.9 billion; Market cap: $46.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; Dividend yield: 5.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.ford.com) reported that its revenue rose 16.7% in the fourth quarter of 2022, to $44.0 billion from $37.7 billion a year earlier. That’s partly due to a 4% improvement in units sold. Earnings before unusual items also shot up 96.2%, to $0.51 from $0.26. Thanks to the sale of its shares in electric-powered truck maker Rivian Automotive Inc. (Nasdaq symbol RIVN), Ford is paying investors a special dividend of $0.65 a share. That’s in addition to its regular quarterly payment of $0.15; the annual rate of $0.60 yields 5.0%. Ford continues its shift to electric vehicles. However, the company admits that it needs to lower its cost structure to better compete with industry leader Tesla as well as new EVs from other automakers. Ford Motor remains a..