Toyota Motor Stock Is Trading Higher Thursday: What's Driving The Action?

Toyota Motor Corp TM shares are trading higher Thursday following reports the company is targeting higher return-on-equity.

What To Know: According to a Bloomberg report citing Nikkei Asia, Toyota shares jumped on Thursday morning on reports the Japanese automaker is planning to significantly increase its target for return-on-equity.

A Toyota executive reportedly said the company plans to double its target to around 20%, although the unspecified executive noted that the company has not set an “explicit target” or deadline for its goal.

"The company would need to boost earnings from the value chain, in order to further propel profit margins upward," Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities analyst Shinji Kakiuchi reportedly said in a new note.

"We'll also be watching for Toyota, as a part of moves to improve capital efficiency, to take funds from selling its equity holdings to bolster shareholder returns further."

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Is TM A Good Stock To Buy?

When deciding whether to buy a stock, there are some key fundamentals investors may want to consider. One of these factors is revenue growth. Buying a stock is essentially a bet that the business will continue to grow and generate profits in the future.

Toyota Motor has reported average annual revenue growth of 6.86% over the past five years.

It's also important to pay attention to valuation when deciding whether to buy a stock. Toyota Motor has a forward P/E ratio of 9.49. This means investors are paying $9.49 for each dollar of expected earnings in the future. The average forward P/E ratio of Toyota Motor's peers is 37.96.

Other important metrics to look at include a company's profitability, balance sheet, performance relative to a benchmark index and valuation compared to peers. For in-depth analysis tools and important financial data, check out Benzinga PRO.

TM Price Action: Toyota Motor shares were up 7.48% at $195.01 at the time of publication Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro.

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