Today, an unusual theme developed in news around legacy automaker Ford (F). Today’s news ran oddly about batteries for Ford, whether it was a potential union emerging at the battery plant in Kentucky, or a blacklisting of the battery maker Ford used at the Pentagon. All of this battery trouble added up to little good for Ford, who saw shares drop fractionally in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
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Word from the New York Times noted that the United Auto Workers (UAW) are looking to get into the Glendale, Kentucky battery plant and establish a position therein. The UAW has already reached out to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to set up the vote on whether or not to make the UAW a part of the Glendale shop.
The report also noted that a “supermajority” of workers at the Glendale plant have already expressed interest in becoming part of the UAW. If the Glendale plant goes for it, the report noted, then two other plants—one in Tennessee and a second plant in Kentucky—will likely follow. Ford, who runs the plant as part of a joint venture with SK, seeks to “…strive to maintain our direct relationship with our employees.” But with an incoming Trump administration, the NLRB may not be so union-friendly going forward.
Blacklisted Batteries
Next came a report from Jalopnik that featured Ford’s battery maker, CATL. Interestingly, Tesla (TSLA) also turns to CATL for its batteries, noted the report. But the Pentagon ended up putting CATL on a blacklist thanks to its connection to the Chinese military. In fact, the Pentagon has listed CATL as a “Chinese military company” by the Department of Defense.
Naturally, CATL released a statement saying that it has “…never engaged in any military-related business or activities…” and, therefore, declared “…this designation by the Department of Defense is a mistake.” With CATL currently controlling roughly 37% of the world’s battery market, the report noted, that makes it a major part of the electric vehicle industry as a whole. Whether or not that listing stands in another couple of weeks when the guard changes in Washington, however, is anyone’s guess.
Is Ford Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on F stock based on three Buys, seven Holds and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 12.61% loss in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $10.31 per share implies 6.34% upside potential.
