Light Vehicle Sales Are Killing It In December: A Look Into U.S. Carmakers

  • According to a Buckingham Research report issued Thursday, December light vehicle sales are doing great.
  • Based on what the analysts saw in the first five selling days of the month, they are modeling a 5.3 percent year-over-year increase in total sales for the full month.
  • In this context, the experts, led by Joseph C. Amaturo, reiterated a Buy rating on shares of Ford Motor Company F and a Neutral rating on shares of General Motors Company GM.
  • On Thursday, Buckingham Research analyst Joseph C. Amaturo and his team reiterated a Buy rating and $18 price target on shares of Ford, and a Neutral rating and $32 price target on shares of General Motors. The reiterations followed month-to-date data on U.S. light vehicle sales revealing a 2.1 percent year-over-year increase over the first five selling days of December.

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    Looking Ahead

    The firm is now projecting a 5.3 percent year-over-year increase in sales for the full month – 18 million units versus 16.8 million units sold last year. Moreover, the experts expect retail sales to surge 5.2 percent year-over-year in December, and fleet sales to surge 5.7 percent.

    Interestingly, sales of 18 million in December would mark the fourth consecutive month of an 18 million plus unit light vehicle SAAR.

    On the other hand, full-size pickup sales, which are up 2.5 percent month-to-date, are not expected to outperform the industry this month. “We estimate full-size pickup sales growth YOY will continue to moderate throughout the year, reaching an annualized level of 2.1 million units compared to 2.0 million units in 2014,” the analysts commented.

    A Look Into The U.S. Giants

    While Ford’s retail sales are down 4.3 percent month-to-date, LMC is expecting total December sales to be up 7.0 percent. On the other hand, GM’s retail sales are up 9.8 percent month-to-date. However, LMC is anticipating total sales to be up only 0.5 percent for the month.

    Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above.

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    Posted In: Analyst ColorLong IdeasPrice TargetReiterationTop StoriesAnalyst RatingsTrading IdeasBuckingham ResearchJoseph C. Amaturo
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