Is Toyota Motor a Suitable Stock for Value Investors?

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Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?

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One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM) stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:

P/E Ratio

A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or P/E for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the P/E ratio is to compare the stock’s current P.E ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.

On this front, TM stock has a trailing twelve months P/E ratio of 10.96, as you can see in the chart below:

This level actually compares pretty favorably with the market at large, as the P/E for the S&P 500 stands at about 17.75. If we focus on the long-term PE trend, the current P/E level of TM stock puts it marginally above its midpoint over the past five years.

However, the P/E of TM stock compares slightly unfavorably with the industry’s trailing twelve months P/E ratio, which stands at 9.88. This indicates that TM stock is relatively overvalued right now, compared to its peers.

Nonetheless, we should point out that TM has a forward P/E ratio (price relative to this year’s expected earnings) of just 8.77, so it is fair to say that a slight value-oriented path may be ahead for Toyota Motor stock in the near term.

P/S Ratio

Another key metric to note is the Price/Sales ratio. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Some people like this metric more than other value-focused ones because it looks at sales, something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings.

Right now, Toyota Motor stock has a P/S ratio of about 0.69. This is significantly lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.13 right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is well below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years.

If anything, TM is in the lower end of its historical P/S range, suggesting some level of undervalued trading—at least compared to historical norms.

Broad Value Outlook

In aggregate, Toyota Motor currently has a Zacks Value Style Score of B, putting it into the top 40% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes TM stock a solid choice for value investors, and some of its other key metrics make this pretty clear too.

For example, the PEG ratio for TM is 1.00, a level that is marginally lower than the industry average of 1.01. The PEG ratio is a modified PE ratio that takes into account the stock’s earnings growth rate. Clearly, TM is a solid choice on the value front from multiple angles.

What About the Stock Overall?

Though Toyota Motor stock might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth grade of C and a Momentum score of D. This gives TM a Zacks VGM score—or its overarching fundamental grade—of B. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)

Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been mixed at best. The current fiscal quarter has not seen any estimate revisions in the past sixty days, while the fiscal full year estimate has seen zero upward and two downward revisions in the same time period.

As a result, the current fiscal quarter consensus estimate has remained unchanged in the past two months, while the fiscal full year estimate has decreased 2.4%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:

This somewhat mixed trend is why the stock has just a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and why we are looking for in-line performance from the company in the near term.

The Bottom Line on toyota Motor Stock 

Toyota Motor is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. However, with a sluggish industry rank (among the bottom 11%) and a Zacks Rank #3, it is hard to get too excited about this company overall. In fact, over the past two years, the industry has clearly underperformed the broader market, as you can see below:

So, value investors might want to wait for estimates, analyst sentiment and broader factors to turn around in this name first, but once that happens, this stock could be a compelling pick.

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