Strong sales prompt dividend hike

Article Excerpt

FORD MOTOR CO. $15 (New York symbol F; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 4.0 billion; Market cap: $60.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.ford.com) sold 2.5 million vehicles in the U.S. in 2013, up 10.8% from 2.25 million in 2012. Truck sales supplied 38% of the 2013 total and rose 13.0%, followed by cars (34%, up 10.0%) and SUVs (28%, up 9.1%). Thanks to its improving outlook, Ford recently raised its dividend by 25.0%. The new annual rate of $0.50 a share yields 3.3%. The stock also trades at a low 9.9 times the $1.51 a share that the company will probably earn in 2014. Ford is a buy. buy…