Sadly, we have news of yet another major recall at legacy automaker Ford (F). And the problem this time around is not only pretty widespread, but also, pretty dangerous. This time it is a matter of brakes, and Ford is calling a lot of its rolling stock home for some fixes. The news did little to hurt the paper stock, though, as Ford shares were actually up fractionally in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
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This time around, the recall effort impacts over 273,000 vehicles, reports note. Most of these are Lincoln Navigators and Ford Expeditions with model years of 2022 through 2024. More specifically, it was these cars produced between April 15, 2021 and November 20, 2024. The culprit? A fluid leak in the brake line which may end up taking out the entire front brake system.
Apparently, the reports noted, the front brake lines were unexpectedly making contact with the engine air cleaner outlet pipe. That contact could ultimately result in a fluid leak. Fixes, as ever, will be free of charge to vehicle owners, and will be accomplished by a replacement of the brake line, or of the air cleaner outlet pipe, whichever the dealership finds most appropriate at the time.
Tariffs in Play for Three Years, Says Farley
One of the biggest destabilizing elements in our economy right now—and the economy of the broader world as well—is the tariffs. And Ford CEO Jim Farley looks for tariffs to stay in place for the next three years at least, reports note.
However, in an unexpected twist, Farley also believes that the tariffs will give Ford a competitive advantage, and he is not wrong. After all, remember that Ford is one of the least impacted automakers when it comes to the tariffs. So while the tariffs will hurt all automakers, it will hurt some automakers, like Ford, much less so than others. And some of the tariff modifications have been helpful, too, such as the recent paring back of imported parts tariffs.
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, 11 Holds and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 13.89% loss in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $9.70 per share implies 8.88% downside risk.
