Genuine Parts is the better buy right now

Article Excerpt

Sales of new cars in the U.S. have slowed lately. That should spur demand for replacement auto parts and repair services. However, we prefer Genuine Parts to Snap-On right now due to its wider variety of businesses and higher dividend. GENUINE PARTS CO. $101 (New York symbol GPC; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 148.9 million; Market cap: $15.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; Dividend yield: 2.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.genpt.com) gets 52% of its sales and 57% of its earnings by selling replacement auto parts. It also sells industrial parts (30% of sales, 27% of earnings), office products (13%, 11%) and electrical equipment (5%, 5%). The company has a long history of fueling its growth with acquisitions, usually smaller firms that enhance its current operations. In the first six months of 2016, it spent $236 million buying other businesses. Even so, Genuine’s overall sales in the second quarter of 2016 fell 1.0%, to $3.90 billion…