L BRANDS INC. $98 - New York symbol LB

L BRANDS INC. $98 (New York symbol LB; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 289.4 million; Market cap: $28.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.4; Dividend yield: 2.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.lb.com) owns the Victoria’s Secret lingerie chain (63% of sales) and the Bath & Body Works personal care products stores (28%). Smaller chains, including La Senza (lingerie) in Canada and Henri Bendel (jewellery and accessories) in the U.S., supply the remaining 9% of sales. In November 2015 (which includes the important Black Friday promotion), the company’s sales rose 8.4% to $1.17 billion from $1.08 billion in November 2014. Overall same-store sales gained 7%. Same-store sales rose 6% at Victoria’s Secret, while this division’s online and catalogue sales jumped 12%. Seasonal home fragrances, soaps and sanitizers also spurred a 7% same-store sales gain at the company’s Bath & Body Works stores. However, the stock trades at a high 25.7 times L Brands’likely fiscal 2016 earnings of $3.81 a share. L Brands is a hold.

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