Ford To Add 3,000 Jobs With $1.45B Investment In Detroit Area

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) recently announced its plans to make an investment of more than $1.45 billion across two manufacturing facilities in the Detroit area to make electric, autonomous and sports utility vehicles. With this investment, the automaker also expects to add 3,000 jobs.

The company looks forward to invest $750 million in its Wayne, MI-based facility, in order to manufacture Bronco and Ranger sports utility vehicles and pick-up trucks. It also plans to hire 2,700 workers over the next three years at this facility.

The remaining $700 million will be used to produce electric and hybrid versions of the F-150 truck at Ford’s Dearborn plant. The company anticipates to employ 300 people in 2020 for the same purpose.

Moreover, Ford aims to assemble battery cells for the F-150 hybrid and all-electric F-150 with the creation of a new Dearborn operation.

Meanwhile, Ford is actively working to introduce fresh models of autonomous and electric vehicles, which seem to be the future of the auto industry. These initiatives are likely to boost the company’s prospects. The firm plans to produce self-driving cars by 2021. Moreover, it intends to launch 30 vehicle models in China by 2025, of which one third will be electric vehicles (EVs).

Year to date, shares of Ford have outperformed the industry it belongs to. Its shares have appreciated 30.9% compared with the industry’s rise of 23.1%.

For full-year 2019, Ford expects adjusted EBIT of $7-$7.5 billion compared with the prior year’s $7 billion. Adjusted EPS is anticipated in the $1.20-$1.35 band compared with the $1.30 recorded in 2018. The range assumes a full-year adjusted effective tax rate in the band of 18-20%, which indicates a rise of 10% from the year-ago levels. This is likely to create a headwind of 12-16 cents per share for this year.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Ford currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector include Weichai Power Co. (OTC:WEICY) , Spartan Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPAR) and SPX Corporation (NYSE:SPXC) . While Weichai Power flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Spartan Motors and SPX carry a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy), at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Weichai Power has a projected earnings growth rate of 6.11% for the current year. Its shares have gained 81% over the past year.

Spartan Motors has an estimated earnings growth rate of 85.42% for the ongoing year. The company’s shares have surged 146.6% in a year’s time.

SPX has an expected earnings growth rate of 23.18% for 2019. The stock has appreciated 88.2% in the past year.

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