ANDREW PELLER LTD. $18 - Toronto symbol ADW.A

ANDREW PELLER LTD. $18 (Toronto symbol ADW.A; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 14.3 million; Market cap: $257.4 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 2.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.andrewpeller.com) is Canada’s second-largest producer of wines, after Constellation Brands.

The company continues to successfully launch new premium priced brands. In the first quarter of its 2016 fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2015, Peller’s sales rose 4.5%, to $83.1 million from $79.5 million a year earlier.

Earnings jumped 67.5%, to $6.7 million, or $0.48 a share, from $4.0 million, or $0.29. Without unusual items, such as losses on hedging contracts Peller uses to lock in foreign exchange rates, earnings gained 40.3%.

The company recently raised its dividend by 7.1%. The new annual rate of $0.45 a share yields 2.5%. Peller has now increased its payout seven times in the past nine years.

Andrew Peller is a buy.

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