Advertisement

Auto Sales Recover in May: ETF & Stocks to Ride On

After a dismal April, the U.S. auto industry showed signs of recovery in May. As COVID-19 lockdown measures eased, dealers started opening their stores. Incentives and online sales also drove interest for new vehicles.

In particular, sport-utility vehicles and trucks dominated U.S. auto sales last month. The pace of sales picked up in May, averaging 12.17 million vehicles on an annualized basis from 8.6 million in April, according to Autodata. Though the number came in better than expected, auto research firms expected new vehicle sales to be slightly less than 1.1 million in May, down about 32-33% from the year-ago level. Toyota TM, Honda HMC and Hyundai reported double-digit sales losses of 25.7%, 16.9% and 12.9%, respectively, last month.

Per Cox Automotive, incentives in May were also lower than the last two years particularly due to inventory being depleted with factories idled.

Automakers on Recovery Path?

The University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers showed that 64% of those polled in May said it was a good time to buy a car. That was up from 57% in April and the highest level since December. Those saying times were bad or the future was uncertain fell to 28% from 38% the prior month (read: Consumer Discretionary ETFs to Bet on in June).

Automakers are likely to speed up their production to cope with a rebound in demand after coronavirus shutdowns. General Motors GM will keep building vehicles at most of its U.S. plants to meet strengthening customer demand, instead of taking a traditional two-week summer shutdown starting Jun 29. Additionally, half of Ford Motor Co's F eight U.S. assembly plants have reduced their shutdowns to one week. Others are shifting their breaks to later in the year. All these suggest that the auto industry is on its way to recovery.

Meanwhile, the industry fundamentals look bright. Lower interest rates coupled with massive incentives are expected to propel auto sales. This is especially true as the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates to near zero to support the economy that will encourage lending and boost consumer spending. As such, this will push more consumers to avail loans while buying vehicles.

Below we highlight the pure play auto ETF and a few stocks that could be attractive picks in the recovering industry:

First Trust NASDAQ Global Auto ETF CARZ

This fund offers a pure-play global exposure to 33 auto stocks by tracking the NASDAQ OMX Global Auto Index. It is highly concentrated on the top firm with double-digit exposure while others make up for no more than 8.8% share. CARZ has a lower level of $16.9 million in AUM and trades in a small average daily trading volume of about 6,000 shares. The product charges 70 bps in fees per year and has a Zacks ETF Rank #5 (Strong Sell) with High risk outlook (read: Tesla Beats Q1 Earnings and Revenue Estimates: ETFs to Soar).

Strattec Security Corporation STRT

It designs, develops, manufactures and markets mechanical locks, electro-mechanical locks and related products for automotive manufacturers with operations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The stock has witnessed no earnings estimate revision over the past month for fiscal year (ending June 2020). Its earnings are expected to decline 73.2%. Strattec Security has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and VGM Score of A. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Adient PLC (ADNT)

It is one of the world’s largest automotive seating suppliers. Though the stock has negative earnings growth of 138% for fiscal year (ending Sep 2020), it has seen positive earnings estimate revision of 83 cents over the past 30 days. Adient has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and VGM Score of B.

BRP Inc. DOOO

This company designs, develops, manufactures and distributes recreational vehicles. The stock witnessed positive earnings estimate revision of 43 cents for the fiscal year (ending January 2021) over the past 7 days. However, its earnings are expected to decline 63.5% annually. BRP has a Zacks Rank #2 and VGM Score of A.

Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox?

Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week. Get it free >>


Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
Ford Motor Company (F) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (HMC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Toyota Motor Corporation (TM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
General Motors Company (GM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Strattec Security Corporation (STRT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
First Trust NASDAQ Global Auto ETF (CARZ): ETF Research Reports
 
BRP Inc. (DOOO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research
 
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report