“Unscripted Moments of Ownership”: Ford Releases New Branded Visa, Ford Stock (NYSE:F) Slides

Yesterday, we were giving legacy automaker Ford F -1.35% ▼ credit. Now, it is taking that credit back and offering it up to Ford owners in the form of a new branded Visa V -1.57% ▼ credit card. The card is designed to address “unscripted moments of ownership,” which seems to be connected to either unexpected maintenance or other breakdowns. Ford investors, though, did not much approve, and sent shares down over 1.5% in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.

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Ford had a slew of examples of “unscripted moments of ownership,” ranging from a man going in for an oil change only to discover his brake pads are more worn than you might think to a woman looking to add roof racks and off-road lighting to a Bronco. They are often standard expenses, though they may come at less-than-standard times.

But Ford’s new Ford Rewards Visa Signature Credit Card, coupled with a new loan installment program, looks to help cover some of those gaps. The loan installment program offers 0% APR financing for those who qualify, and new cardholders on the Ford Rewards card get a 15,000-point bonus with their first purchase within 90 days of the account opening. There is also a $100 statement credit for those who spend $1,500 in that time.

BlueCruise Investigation

Self-driving cars these days seem to be proving more and more of an issue, as Ford’s BlueCruise system is coming under investigation from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The NTSB investigation focuses on two crashes from a pair of 2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles. The pair of vehicles were reportedly “…traveling at highway speeds…” when they crashed into parked cars. The NHTSA, meanwhile, still has an open investigation going on over these same two crashes. But a preliminary investigation prompted the agency to expand its coverage to include Mustang Mach-E vehicles from 2021 to 2024.

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, 12 Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 27.63% rally in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $14.02 per share implies 16.4% upside potential.

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