Bank of America Merrill Lynch Positive On Ford

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is out with a research note on Ford Motor Co. F after the company held an analyst day yesterday. It has a Buy rating and a $22 price target on shares. In a note to investors, Bank of America writes, "At Ford's first analyst day in years management outlined a solid set of mid-decade expectations for the industry and itself. We believe the message was optimistic and bodes well for Ford's future, and most importantly for creation of shareholder value. Specifically, Ford is expecting to increase its global volume ~50% by 2015 to 8mm units, improve pricing, improve operating margins (NA: 8-10%; Globally 8-9%), reduce debt, return to investment grade, pay a dividend, and generate low double-digit ROE at Ford Motor Credit, all of which we view as positive. The one catch is that investors eagerly await clarity around timing of a dividend reinstatement which we believe could be as early as 2012." Shares of F gained 4 cents yesterday to close at $13.95, a gain of 0.3%.