Nissan bounces back

Article Excerpt

NISSAN MOTOR CO. ADR $21.26 (Nasdaq symbol NSANY; SI Rating: Above Average) (310-771-3111; www.nissanmotors.com; Shares outstanding: 2.0 billion; Market cap: $43.4 billion; No dividends paid) expects to report an operating profit of 460 billion yen ($5.7 billion U.S.) in the year ended March 31, 2011. That’s down 14% from a year earlier. Even so, that’s a strong performance in light of the slowdowns and disruptions that the company experienced in the wake of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. As well, Nissan expects its worldwide production to rise 9.9% this year, to 4.6 million vehicles. Rivals Toyota and Honda are both expecting production declines. For 2012, Nissan forecasts a 7.1% revenue increase, to 9.4 trillion yen ($116.5 billion U.S). As well, Nissan plans to double its dividend to 20 yen ($0.25 U.S.) this year. That would give the shares a 1.2% yield. Nissan Motor is still a buy. buy…