This might be the strangest combination of events for legacy automaker Ford (F) that I have seen in a while. Ford announced another big recall, this time targeting Mustangs over an odd reason: seatbelts. But this recall had virtually no impact to shareholders at all. In fact, shareholders went on a buying spree and sent Ford shares up nearly 5% in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
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Over 332,000 Mustangs were on the recall list, reports noted, most of them from model years 2015, 2016, and 2017. The part under recall is a front seat-belt anchor pretensioner. The cables involved in said part have a risk of corrosion when exposed to water and road salt, and thus could break. If the cables involved do break, then they may fail, particularly in a crash. That failure could ultimately injure a front seat occupant.
The usual solution applies, as dealers will replace both front seat-belt anchor pretensioner assemblies, as well as the carpet and underlayment accordingly. However, the actual fixes will not be ready until January 2026, reports note. Though how many people are driving Mustangs on winter roads is somewhat unclear.
Carbon Neutrality By 2050
So we also know that Ford’s greener aspirations have taken a bit of a backseat in recent months, as Ford discovers that its market is not especially eager to give up gas-powered cars. But Ford recently announced that it remained committed to carbon neutrality, and by achieving that goal before 2050 ends.
That may be a noteworthy goal, but it is not merely a resolution to be thrown out when inconvenient. Ford so far has achieved a 49% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions just since 2017. It has also seen a 16% reduction in Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions since 2019. And with several “lower-emission” product choices in play, Ford has indeed made progress. Though, perhaps, not as much progress as some would like.
Is Ford Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on F stock based on two Buys, 10 Holds and two Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 7.92% rally in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $11.48 per share implies 8.53% downside risk.
