In a recent blow to the automaker, Ford Motor Co. F has been ordered by a jury to pay more than $1.7 billion for a 2014 rollover accident that killed a Georgia couple.
The case was lodged against Ford by the family of Melvin and Voncile Hill. The couple was driving a 2002 Ford F-250 Super Duty truck from their farm in Georgia when the right front tire ruptured and the truck rolled over, killing both. The Hill family claimed that Ford had prior knowledge that the roofs of the F-250 pickups were too flimsy to protect riders in the event of a rollover but did not warn consumers of the same until 2016.
The case has been dragging on for years, and jurors delivered their verdict last week following a 14-day trial in a state court in Georgia.
On the previous day, the jury awarded the Hill family $24 million in compensatory damages and allocated 70% of the blame to Ford.
It is likely that the Hill family pressed for a verdict to warn people riding the millions of trucks Ford sold. Hopefully, the stringent verdict will make more automakers address passenger safety issues.
Ford lawyers defended the actions of the company and its engineers that they had willfully turned a blind eye to the issue out of sheer indifference for the passenger’s safety.
Of late, Ford has been impacted by quality issues. A while ago, it issued the first recall of its Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup trucks. The recall was due to a safety issue pertaining to the tire pressure monitoring system. It covered trucks with 20-inch or 22-inch all-season tires. In another significant recall, nearly 49,000 Mustang Mach-E SUVs were called back due to a malfunction that could result in the engine not starting abruptly or losing propulsion power while in motion leading to dangerous situations, especially on busy roads.
Shares of Ford have gained 24.7% over the past year outperforming its industry’s 5% rise.
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Zacks Rank & Key Picks
F carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), currently.
Better-ranked players in the auto space include Harley-Davidson HOG, BorgWarner BWA and LCI Industries LCII, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), currently. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.
Harley-Davidson has an expected earnings growth rate of 6.9% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has been revised 8.5% upward in the past 30 days.
Harley-Davidson’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed in one. HOG pulled off a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 49.52%, on average. The stock has risen 4.2% in the past year.
BorgWarner has an expected earnings growth rate of 2.9% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has been revised 4.6% upward in the past 30 days.
BorgWarner’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all of the trailing four quarters. BWA pulled off a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 29.45%, on average. The stock has declined 8.2% over the past year.
LCI Industries has an expected earnings growth rate of 68.1% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has been revised 1.3% upward in the past 30 days.
LCI Industries’ earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all of the trailing four quarters. LCII pulled off a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 26.48%, on average. The stock has declined 5.7% over the past year.
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