STOCKCHASE

The one positive thing for automobiles in North America is the age of the fleet. It is older today than it has been any time in 40 years. A lot of people and companies deferred replacing their vehicles. Personal incomes are rising in the US, which leads him to believe those cars will be replaced. Not a bad idea.

2012-01-31

Comment

12.790

Hap (Robert) Sneddon FCSI

Discretionary stock so it could do well. Has broken above the 200 day moving average, which is very positive. The 50 day moving average is not white above the 200 day yet. Consider looking at some of the emerging market companies such as Tata Motors (TTM-N).

2012-01-26

Comment

12.610

Shows a little double bottom in mid 2011 followed by a minor upward trend. The major downtrend from $19 has been somewhat broken but doesn't necessarily mean it is going to go up from here. Expects there will be resistance at around $14.50, which would be the 1st step followed by a 2nd step of $18.80

2012-01-19

WAIT

11.130

Keith Richards

Interesting chart. Up trend for past few years and then downtrend. Now a bit of consolidation. Couple of lows at same point. Looks like it is starting to break out and is putting in a bottom. Wants to see a few days of gains.

2012-01-03

Comment

10.150

40%-45% sales come from outside of the US and Europe is a very big market for them. Stock has taken it on the chin. Have close to $100 billion in debt as well as $15-$20 billion of unfunded pension obligations but are producing a tremendous volume of cash and just introduced a dividend. Long-term, it could be a good bet.

2011-12-14

Comment

10.900

Jeff Parent B. Eng. FCSI

Chart looks like it is finding a bottom here. Difficulty with auto manufacturers is that they don't have a huge growth potential. You’ll have to be very patient. Doesn't see any huge movement. Maybe $1 is the upside potential in the next 6 months. If it dips below $10, you have to get out.

2011-12-02

HOLD

9.830

Has been going down, but is market related. A good company, paying down debt, may introduce dividend.

2011-11-23

Comment

10.050

Car companies have been beaten down and trading as though they are typical commodity-based stocks. Trading in the range of 5X earnings. Thinks the industry is set for a bounce. Interesting investment for a trade. As a value investor, he can't get over the balance sheet. Until they raise the dividend to give a signal that management is confident, he is not a buyer.

2011-11-21

WEAK BUY

11.610

He owns GM. Pent up demand in North America. Terrific company going forward but prefers GM. Will be much higher in 3-5 years.

2011-11-08

TOP PICK

12.000

Stocks have been pummeled in automotive because of Japan earthquake. Repositioned themselves really well on the brands. Ford sticks out a little bit cheaper. When you look at how down the auto industry is, they are going to get the replacement business.

2011-10-28

BUY

11.970

Randall Abramson

More cyclical than average, but less than TCK.B. Clean balance sheet and outlook was not terrific and market soured on it. He prefers GM but you are not paying much for the business right here and an advantage with the US dollar being as low as it is right here. If we get back to close to normal volumes they will do well.

2011-10-27

BUY

12.430

Auto sector is one he is interested in. Average age of the car on the street is beyond what it has historically been. Thinks they can do well and may re-instate a dividend over the next year. This is the one of the automakers he would want to own. He’d be adding to a position here.

2011-10-25

BUY

12.510

Have done a good job. Deserve credit for not taking gov’t assistance. Getting their financial house in order. As we see car sales go up over the next couple of years, they will do well.

2011-10-24

TOP PICK

11.780

Colin Stewart

Very cyclical but thinks the automobile fundamentals are improving. Vehicle fleet in North America is quite old. Even just looking at replacement demanderic demand annually in North America you are looking at 12-14 million annually. Recent sales data has been quite good.

2011-10-18

BUY on WEAKNESS

10.990

Paul Harris, CFA

Of all the auto companies, this is the one he likes except for the high-end European ones. Have done a very good job. Didn't get any money from the government. Good growth in their brands and products. Autos are in tough times right now but this is one of the premier companies.

2011-10-06

DON'T BUY

10.320

Ford (F-N) versus Suncor (SU-T). Caller is thinking of switching from Ford to Suncor.. Doesn't follow Ford but thinks car sales will continue to be slow. Does like Suncor and owns it.

2011-09-14

DON'T BUY

10.050

Gavin Graham

Depends on your views of the North American economies. Demand for light vehicles rose from 2009 but has now come off again. Although the best managed of the big 3, it could still drop further.

2011-09-09

DON'T BUY

11.120

Ross Healy

Great company and great turnaround. Got up to 14 times book value. They should have done a big underwriting when their stock price was down to fortify the balance sheet. If we have a double dip they wont necessarily be able to take another hit.

2011-08-31

DON'T BUY

10.400

Never own auto stocks for the long-term. This is a cyclical business. You buy them when times start to get good in the auto business and you hold them until everybody says everything is great, and then you let them go.

2011-08-26

Comment

12.320

The best of the domestic carmakers in the US. They deserve a lot of credit for coming through 2008 without any government assistance. Have a great product line. This is a good opportunity, but what scares him a little is their balance sheet. Have a lot of debt but they are paying it off.

2011-07-28

WAIT

13.330

Likes auto group and things we will see a turn in this group as we get through the 3’rd quarter. Wait for more strength in the stock before buying this one.

2011-06-28

WATCH

13.360

Took profits on his holdings after they missed their earnings. Trading at about 17X forward P/E with a decent growth rate of high single digit. He would revisit this one later on when earnings beats.

2011-06-22

DON'T BUY

15.000

Doesn’t own any auto stocks right now and if he were, it would probably be Honda (HMC-N) on a valuation point of view and because Japan is very depressed here. Generally the auto sector is a bad business.

2011-05-20

Comment

15.580

Came through the 2008 situation without going to the government for assistance. Doing quite well on both the product side and execution of paying down their balance sheet. Still heavily indebted but are producing a lot of cash. Have some good opportunities if their modeling of 13-13.5 million units is met. He doesn’t like their debt.

2011-04-27

HOLD

14.490

Srikanth Iyer

Liked it a year ago. He saw the change in balance sheet. Should have been bought last year. Right now it has had its run up. He has shifted away from the auto stocks. Ford has positioned itself far better as a global player. There is a credibility premium attached to them.

2011-03-18

BUY

14.180

His stock picking method does not allow this one because of debt. It is producing a tone of cash. Likes them amongst the automakers. GM is still a repair job – work in progress.

2011-03-16

WEAK BUY

15.230

Don Lato

More and more of their business is coming out of Asia, the fastest growing market in the world. They have a joint venture there. But he is concerned about the high levels of debt. Strong management. Prefers over GM. He is investigating this one – kicking tires.

2011-02-22

DON'T BUY

16.100

John O'Connell, CFA

Would not hold on to it waiting for a dividend. These are capital-intensive businesses. Likes the theme, but would not expect dividends. It’s a tough business. He would look at suppliers that don’t just have auto manufacturers as customers. Car companies had a good run and you might get them a little cheaper.

2011-02-15

WAIT

15.950

Mike S. Newton, CIM FCSI

Never been a big fan of the automakers. Likes auto parts suppliers but not the manufacturers. Looks interesting but you have to let this one play out a bit for the next couple weeks and then you might have a good entry point.

2011-01-31

Comment

18.790

Don Vialoux

Coming out with numbers tomorrow. Industrial stocks on a seasonal basis usually do well from October to May. Technically testing a key resistance level at around $19. If the numbers are good tomorrow, it could move above its trading range.

2011-01-27

HOLD

17.380

Tremendous turnaround. Would hold on to it. They are in a lot of ways the go to company. Wishes he bought it.

2011-01-04

DON'T BUY

16.990

The 3 NA companies have never been great at competing in small car market. In the short term not a bad idea. Longer term there could be strong competition from China and India. Still stuck with the unions, health care costs and inefficient old plants.

2010-12-22

DON'T BUY

16.560

He totally missed this one. He doesn’t like the company, the balance sheet. Cars from India and China will start to gain a lot of market share. Probably could go higher short term.

2010-12-07

BUY

16.800

Likes the auto industry. Global economy is doing better, particularly outside of North America, which will create stronger auto sales. Would be more inclined to own Magna (MG-T) or GM (GM-N). (See Top Picks.)

2010-12-03

HOLD

15.940

Derek Webb, CFA

He owns auto parts suppliers, e.g. Magna. Ford earnings are good.

2010-11-30

HOLD

16.120

Looks very good on his screen. Good earnings momentum. Great product lineup with Fusion and Escape, etc. Good quality.

2010-11-18

BUY

16.510

Terrific company. Tremendous interest in General Motors’ (GM-N) IPO will rub off on Ford. We are in a long term recovery cycle for automobiles and the peak won’t come until about 2013, 2014.

2010-11-16

DON'T BUY

16.410

Brian Acker, CA

Stock price thinks it’s a successful turnaround. June balance sheet has negative shareholder equity so no model price. Certainly stock is way ahead of fundamentals.

2010-11-08

DON'T BUY

15.180

Mike Lyons CA, CFA

Does not have a price he would buy at. There is so many problems in the industry. North American auto companies are like airlines. They have trouble making money over complete business cycles. The debts because of the unions scare him away with these companies.

2010-11-03

PAST TOP PICK

12.440

(A Top Pick Sept 17/09. Up 80%.) Still buying for his newer clients. Very solid product line-up. Quality controls are better than a lot of other domestic companies. 6 consecutive quarters of earnings surprises. Trading at 6.5X forward PE.

2010-09-16

DON'T BUY

12.200

Have done a great job. Avoided bankruptcy through good management. Unfortunately competitors under bankruptcy protection come out stronger. Balance sheet is pretty ugly with about $140 billion of total debt, about 107% of capital.

2010-08-18

WAIT

12.980

Brooke Thackray

Discretionary sector. Not a good season for it. Autos do well from October into May and particularly in the new year. Broke its long term up trend. Hold off until later in the year.

2010-08-05

DON'T BUY

11.550

Don Lato

On the surface it looks pretty good, trading at a pretty reasonable multiple. Best of management among the US automakers. Decent product line. Trillion dollars of debt scares him away as they could come back to the market with a new issue to pay it off.

2010-07-21

DON'T BUY

11.750

Doesn’t own US stocks and this is not the one he would own. Earnings are non-existent. He would worry about competition from Asia.

2010-07-20

BUY

11.700

Ford is one of the only that did not go the government for a handout. You can own it here and he likes it.

2010-06-15

DON'T BUY

11.220

Has been on his watch list for years. Potentially has lots of upside. Would not buy it now. Lots of more companies are more interesting. This is not a good time of the year to buy. Because so many stocks moved up from last march to now, there is lots of downside potential.

2010-06-08

DON'T BUY

11.020

(Market Call Minute) They are selling 30 Million cars in China – could go up to 100 million. Not a terrible idea, but he doesn’t like the balance sheet.

2010-05-25

DON'T BUY

12.680

A company with a fairly impaired balance sheet has done quite well on the anticipation that things are going to get back to the old days in terms of numbers of vehicles. Expect there may be an equity raise that will hurt.

2010-05-12

BUY

12.150

(Market Called Minute.) Of all the car companies globally, this one is looking more and more like the smart one.

2010-05-10

WATCH

13.020

Don Vialoux

A consumer discretionary stock so the seasonality is from the end of January right through until the middle of May. On a technical basis, you may actually have seen the high so look for strength between now and the middle of May and take some profits.

2010-04-30

DON'T BUY

13.350

Don Lato

Has proven to be the best of the North American car manufacturers, which is probably why the share price has done so well. An area he doesn't want to play in. A shrinking market and there will be pressures on pricing for a while with offshore competition.

2010-04-14

PARTIAL SELL

12.770

Would be tempted to take some money off the table at this time. Has had a good run. Over the long-term, the industry still has a lot of headwinds.

2010-04-12

DON'T BUY

12.630

American car industry has come back faster and stronger than what people expected. This company has a pretty good line-up, including electric/hybrid vehicles. Not a bad investment but the stock has gone up a whole lot and is no longer cheap.

2010-04-08

PAST TOP PICK

12.630

(A Top Pick Sept 17/09. Up 83.1%.) Still a Buy. Good product line. Gaining market share. 4 consecutive quarters of earnings surprises.

2010-04-08

DON'T BUY

12.770

Could have a lot of upside. Selling Volvo cleans up the balance sheet. Have some of the best product out there. He doesn’t want to chase it at this level, though. Momentum people would like it.

2010-04-05

Comment

12.570

Rick Stuchberry

The survivor in the auto industry. Didn't take any government money and managed to start restructuring before there were real problems. Looks like they have the right product mix. Stock has had a really big run so you might want to wait for a softer market or only take a partial position and add to it in the dip.

2010-03-31

BUY on WEAKNESS

12.570

Hap (Robert) Sneddon FCSI

Likes companies that have positioned themselves in difficult times, to be a leader coming out. This is the one in the auto group. Should still have good upside.

2010-03-31

HOLD

13.800

Paul Harris, CFA

Has done incredibly well. Grabbing market share from the other US auto companies and this should continue. Balance sheet is getting better through their cash flow generation. Not trading at an extreme multiple. Expects it has a good 15% more to go.

2010-03-25

BUY on WEAKNESS

13.990

From a technical respective, there is not much to get worried about. Will probably be in line with the market itself. Good volume.

2010-03-22

WEAK BUY

13.290

David Cockfield

He has been avoiding large US stocks because of the currency exchange rates. Could be getting towards the top of the range so he may start looking at them again. This company has done a fantastic job of weathering the storm. Sales are excellent.

2010-03-19

VAGUE

11.740

Ben Stadelmann

(Market Call Minute) Finds it hard to believe they are at a competitive disadvantage due to GM’s bail out. At some point it may slow down.

2010-03-03

DON'T BUY

11.740

They will benefit from Toyota’s problem to some extent. Doesn’t like auto sector except for Magna, but if he was to buy this sector, it would be this stock.

2010-03-01

DON'T BUY

10.970

Toyota problems. Use this as a speculative buy for 3-4 months? Toyota will recover simply because its reputation for quality is so strong and long lasting. Ford is certainly the strongest US manufacturer with the best line-up and innovative cars as well as the strongest balance sheet. He wouldn't buy because developing countries are making cars a lot cheaper.

2010-02-08

BUY on WEAKNESS

11.060

Loves this company. When it comes to rivals, there isn't anybody left any more in North America. Have continually beat estimates on an ongoing basis. Revisions are moving up on both a quarterly and annual basis.

2010-02-04

SELL

11.120

Gavin Graham

This is the success story however you are still dependent on the North American economy sole sales will not be what they used to be. If you own, consider taking some profits.

2010-02-01

DON'T BUY

11.410

Colin Stewart

Doesn't like the auto industry. There are a lot of risks. Under significant pressure and has been for a long time. In secular decline. Cars are getting smaller and companies are making less money.

2010-01-28

BUY

11.600

Paul Harris, CFA

(Market Call Minute.)

2010-01-18

DON'T BUY

12.110

Ross Healy

(Market Call Minute.) Not a good deal of upside potential to drive it as of yet but looking a little better.

2010-01-11

DON'T BUY

10.280

Has recovered nicely. Balance sheet is atrocious. He stays away from auto companies. To harder market to play.

2010-01-04

DON'T BUY

10.080

Michael Sprung

Automotive has great deal of over capacity. Built to produce 16 million units in North America. Doesn’t know where market is going 10 or 12 million units. Hopefully we see a much better year next year. Consumer debt levels are high, especially in the US. We aren’t in for smooth sailing yet.

2009-12-22

STRONG BUY

9.390

Did extremely well. Had a $0.26 earnings operating EPS over an expected loss of $0.14 in the last quarter. Decent product line. Will return to profitability in 2010.

2009-12-17

DON'T BUY

8.330

Deserves a lot of credit for making it through without any government assistance but it has put them at a competitive disadvantage to Chrysler (DAI-N) and GM (GM-N). Have huge amounts of debt with a lot of that being converted to equity creating a dilution of stocks.

2009-11-11

DON'T BUY

7.760

On their watch list. This is one of the better ones in the industry, but they don’t have the advantage of cleaning up their balance sheet in Chapter 11. He’s looking at other things before Ford

2009-10-22

BUY

7.330

Keith Richards

Trending down on the short-term (a down flag), which can be okay. Appears to be trying to break to the upside but is having a hard time breaking the 50-day moving average. Somewhere in the low $5 area would be support. Also $6.50 is an important area too. He would like to see it complete the down flag. Thinks it could get to $8.80.

2009-09-24

TOP PICK

6.920

When coming out of a recession cyclical areas, retailers and auto manufacturers tend to do well. Product line-up appears to be much better than General Motors or Chrysler. Have done some debt restructuring. Improving their balance sheet. Have ramped up their Q3 production to 495,00 and Q4 is expected at 570,000.

2009-09-17

BUY

7.440

Thinks the Ford product will do very well. Expect there will be a sharp increase in cash flow.

2009-09-10

DON'T BUY

7.390

They are dealing with competition that is a lot healthier than before the bankrupsy. There are easier places n the marketplace. Avoid the car companies for now.

2009-09-09

WATCH

7.730

Bill Carrigan

This stock is still going up. On the dailies, watch the 10-day lows. If you are in for the longer haul, watch the 10-week lows.

2009-08-28

HOLD

7.810

Mike S. Newton, CIM FCSI

Has had a substantial move. If you own, continue to Hold but follow-up with the stop/loss order of about 15%.

2009-08-11

Comment

8.440

Thinks there will be a bounce back in automobile manufacturing. Expects an ongoing demand for mileage and clean cars. Likes this one but would hold off to see how much more momentum there is in sales.

2009-08-05

Comment

7.390

This one is popping up on his model. They beat earnings and within the year he thinks they will start making money again.

2009-07-30

Comment

7.270

Mark Grammer

If you want to own a US auto company, this would be the one. He would rather own Toyota (TM-N) or BMW. However, he doesn't own any of the auto companies directly but goes through the auto parts company instead.

2009-07-27

DON'T BUY

5.980

Mike S. Newton, CIM FCSI

Has picked up market share and thinks that if Americans are going to gloat and shop, 70% of them will probably choose this. Thinks this is a more speculative play.

2009-06-11

DON'T BUY

6.380

Admire them for having gotten through the downturn in the problems in the auto industry without having to go to the government for handouts. Doesn't want to own an auto company just yet.

2009-06-08

BUY on WEAKNESS

6.360

Matthew McCall

Loves them because they did not take any government money. Could be a $10 stock in the next couple of years. It will capitalize on General Motors (GM-N) and Chrysler's (DAI-N) problems. Look for a bit of a pullback to the high $5's to buy in.

2009-06-04

BUY

5.490

Management started into restructuring earlier than the other auto manufacturers. Because of this, they should end up with higher market share. Risk/reward is very good.

2009-05-15

SELL

5.850

Randy LeClair

Ford bonds are rated at a C. Very weak and what he would call below investment grade type of bond.

2009-05-05

WAIT

5.000

Michael Yoshikami

Has had the run that is going to have. Going to be some headwind if there is restructuring in GM and Chrysler. Troubles in the short term, but well positioned for the long term.

2009-04-24

HOLD

3.800

Alan Kral , CFA, CIC

Entire auto industry is a hold until the end of June. Then we will know what shape the companies are in. Need to reset their relationships with their unions. Ford has family ownership.

2009-04-21

DON'T BUY

1.960

Has more liabilities than assets. Bondholders have first call. On a book basis, the common shareholder doesn't have any value.

2009-03-11

DON'T BUY

1.900

Brett Hryb

Sales numbers for January fell off the cliff. This was actually the best of the big three. Even Japanese makers wear down. Would stay away from the whole auto industry.

2009-02-09

DON'T BUY

1.880

Losing competitive advantage in North America. Automotive industry is not a sector you want to be investing in right now.

2009-02-02

DON'T BUY

1.970

Black hole for the automobile business is so large you don't know when it's going to end. If you really wanted or had to own a car company, this would be a decent one to own. Balance sheet is better than the other big 3.

2009-01-27

DON'T BUY

2.630

Ross Healy

Would very much hesitate to say that the auto industry is coming out of a low. Suspects auto sales will be weak for some period of time.

2009-01-09

BUY

2.460

Vinny Catalano

If he where going into the automotive sector, this is the only one that doesn't need money. Not a bad bet at this price. He wouldn't do too much. Be very nimble and if it looked like it was going to struggle towards the end of 2009 and into 2010, take your profit.

2009-01-02

DON'T BUY

3.180