By David Bailey

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) investors a year ago were questioning whether the No. 2 U.S. automaker had the right idea in its turnaround plan under relative newcomer Chief Executive Alan Mulally.

But after an 18-percent gain in Ford stock since then and a surprise first-quarter profit, Mulally enters Thursday's annual meeting in Delaware with new momentum and the unsolicited endorsement of billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian.

Kerkorian, an activist investor who has battled for control of both General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Chrysler LLC in the past, announced last week that he had amassed a nearly 5-percent stake in Ford and indicated he could buy more.

Although Kerkorian said he has been encouraged by Ford's progress, his presence has raised questions about the next restructuring steps at Ford and its ultimate control by the descendants of founder Henry Ford.

"I think Kerkorian is going to be opportunistic to pick up shares from anyone who wants to sell, including the Ford family," said Pete Hastings, an analyst with Morgan Keegan & Co.

Hastings, like other auto analysts, sees Ford as now ahead of its larger rival General Motors in restructuring even as the industry is hammered by a sales decline and a stampede from gas-thirsty large trucks and SUVs.

The cautious optimism on Ford marks a reversal from a year ago, when Ford investors, stung by a $12.6-billion net loss in 2006, chided Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. at the annual meeting for the company's slow progress.

Ford posted a $2.7 billion net loss in 2007 and expects a full-year loss this year, while saying it is on track to return to profitability in 2009.