Global growth at attractive prices

Article Excerpt

New car sales continue to rebound strongly since the end of the 2008-2009 recession. That’s partly because more consumers in developing countries can now afford new cars. Low interest rates are also spurring automobile sales. These three carmakers offer a good way for investors to gain exposure to rapidly growing emerging markets with moderate risk. Their low p/e’s also add to their appeal. Still, we see only two as buys right now. TOYOTA MOTOR CO. ADRs $84 (New York symbol TM; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; ADRs outstanding: 1.7 billion; Market cap: $142.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; Dividend yield: 1.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.toyota.com) is the world’s largest carmaker based on sales. Japan is the company’s largest market, accounting for 28% of its revenue, followed by North America (26%), Asia (19%), Europe (9%) and the rest of the world (18%). Toyota continues to recover from the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which cut its production in Japan. In its fiscal…