AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES INC. $43 - New York symbol A

AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES INC. $43 (New York symbol A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 347.5 million; Market cap: $14.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.2; Dividend yield: 0.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.agilent.com) makes testing systems that improve electronic products, such as cellphones. It also makes medical equipment that detects and measures substances in blood and other patient samples.

Agilent was a subsidiary of Hewlett-Packard Co. until 1999, when Hewlett spun it off as a separate company.

In its 2012 first quarter, which ended January 31, 2012, Agilent’s revenue rose 7.6%, to $1.64 billion from $1.5 billion a year earlier. Strong gains from its life sciences division offset weaker demand for testing equipment. Agilent received $1.6 billion of new orders in the quarter, unchanged from a year ago.

The company earned $244 million in the quarter, or $0.69 a share. That’s up 15.1% from $212 million, or $0.60 a share, a year earlier. These figures exclude unusual items, such as costs to integrate acquisitions. Agilent spends 10% of its revenue on research, so it’s more profitable than it appears.

The stock is up 22% since the start of 2012. Even so, it trades at just 13.5 times the $3.19 a share that Agilent will probably earn this year. The $0.40 dividend yields 0.9%.

Agilent is a buy.

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