Weak currency gives Japanese stocks a boost

Article Excerpt

The falling Japanese yen is good news for these four Japan-based companies. That’s because a lower yen makes their products more attractive in markets outside of Japan. We continue to hold a high opinion of these four, and see two as buys for right now. TOYOTA MOTOR CO. ADRs $122 (New York symbol TM; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; ADRs outstanding: 1.4 billion; Market cap: $170.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.toyota.com) is Japan’s largest carmaker. In its fiscal 2019 second quarter, ended September 30, 2018, Toyota sold 2.18 million vehicles. That’s up 0.4% from a year earlier. More specifically, sales in Asia (excluding Japan) rose 9.2% and 4.8% in Europe. Those gains offset declines in North America (down 1.0%), Japan (down 4.1%) and other regions such as South America, Australia, Africa and the Middle East (down 2.6%). Overall revenue in the quarter fell 5.7%, to $63.6 billion from $67.4 billion. Earnings per ADR jumped 20.8%, to…