Headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, Nissan Motor Company Ltd. (NSANY - Snapshot Report) manufactures and markets automobiles. In North America, Nissan’s operations include styling, engineering, manufacturing, sales, customer and corporate finance, and industrial and textile equipment.

Nissan in North America employs more than 20,000 people in the United States, Canada and Mexico and generates nearly 75,000 jobs through its 1,500 Nissan and Infinity dealerships across the continent.

Image: A 2016 Nissan Rogue

Since 1999, Nissan has been part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, a partnership between the company and French automaker Renault. Nissan is one of the leading car makers in the world, and sells its cars under the Nissan, Infiniti, and Datsun brands.

Let’s take a look at why investors should watch Nissan Motor Co.

Impressive Zacks Rank

Currently, Nissan is sitting comfortably at a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), spurred by recent positive earnings estimate revisions. Over the past 60 days, current year estimates have risen from $2.12 to $2.23 per share while next year estimates have increased as well, going from $2.25 to $2.44 per share in the same time period. Current quarter estimates have remained relatively stable at $0.46 per share.

Investors should take note that Nissan’s industry, Auto-Foreign, is number 51 out of 265 total industries ranked on the Zacks Industry Rank , falling in the top 19%. This suggests fantastic standing at the beginning of a somewhat turbulent new year, especially in comparison with other industries out there.

Strong Value Stock

With a Zacks Style Score of ‘A,’ Nissan is a great stock for value-minded investors. All of the company’s value ratios are strong: it has a Price to Earnings (P/E) of 8.57, a Price to Cash Flow (P/CF) ratio of 3.94, and a Price to Sales (P/S) ratio of 0.43.

In addition to these figures, Nissan has an earnings yield of 11.64% while its Debt/Equity ratio stands at an enviable 0.54.

Nissan’s value statistics either fall in line or rise about its industry’s average value figures, a good indication that the car maker will continue to show strong value as time goes on.

Future Performance

Back in November 2015, Nissan, who has benefitted from a weak Japanese yen and strong U.S. sales, raised its profit outlook for its fiscal year ending in March. The company now expects to post $4.4 billion in net income, a 17% increase from a year earlier.

Despite a slowdown in China, where they are the best-selling Japanese automaker, Nissan is enjoying a robust U.S. automobile market that is seeing high demand for SUVs and crossovers like its Rogue and Murano. This has provided the car maker with a sizable chunk of the market.

Throughout last year, NSANY performed well, outpacing Japan’s Nikkei 225 index and increasing over 17% in value; sales in December alone rose 19%. Nissan can easily continue its impressive performance in 2016, especially if the auto industry sees similar record-breaking sales numbers and the price of oil stays relatively low.

Bottom Line

Nissan is not without considerable competition in its industry, with big automakers like Volkswagen (VLKAY - Snapshot Report) and Fuji Heavy Industries (FUJHY - Snapshot Report), which manufactures the Subaru brand of vehicles, also holding a ‘Strong Buy’ on the Zacks Rank. Nissan needs to continue its impressive sales growth by capitalizing on low oil prices and high vehicle demand in the U.S. Right now, NSANY is a great value stock to add to your portfolio, and one that should not be overlooked.