Ford Shares Surge As Analyst Shifts To Buy: Why They Say Automaker's Roadmap 'Credible'

Ford Motor Co F shares are trading higher Tuesday on the heels of an upgrade from Jefferies.

What Happened: Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois upgraded Ford from Hold to Buy and raised the price target from $13 to $16 following the company's investor event last week.

Houchois increased his price target by 32% on increased confidence that the Ford team has a plan in place to improve its ability to execute. 

"The gap between Ford's ambitions (10% margin by 2026) & a consensus stuck below 6% is attractive and we expect sequential improvements across divisions," the Jefferies analyst said. 

Houchois believes the automaker's new reporting approach, which includes separating numbers into Blue, Model e and Pro divisions, is improving tracking and accountability. 

"With more focused products and market exposure and reduced complexity, we find roadmaps to improve returns across all 3 divisions credible," the analyst said. 

Ford anticipates 10% margins by 2026, while the Street expects margins to remain under 6%, which creates room for an upside surprise from the Detroit-based automaker, Houchois said.

See Also: Ford To Rally Around 33%? Here Are 10 Other Analyst Forecasts For Tuesday

F Price Action: Ford has a 52-week high of $16.68 and a 52-week low of $10.61. 

The stock was up 4.1% at $12.60 at the time of writing, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: courtesy of Ford.