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Topic: Growth Stocks

LIMITED BRANDS INC. $49 – New York symbol LTD

LIMITED BRANDS INC. $49 (New York symbol LTD; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 289.4 million; Market cap: $14.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.limitedbrands.com) owns the Victoria’s Secret lingerie chain and the Bath & Body Works personal-care products stores. It also owns the La Senza lingerie chain in Canada.

The company continues to expand its well-known brands into related niche markets. For example, in 2004, Limited launched the Victoria’s Secret Pink clothing line for younger women. This brand’s success has prompted the company to open two stand-alone Pink stores in the U.S. and eight in Canada.

Limited also plans to open more stores outside North America. This move gives the company lots of growth potential: right now, Limited gets just 9% of its sales from outside the continent.

In its 2012 fiscal year, which ended January 28, 2012, Limited’s sales rose 7.8%, to $10.4 billion from $9.6 billion in 2011. Same-store sales rose 10.0%. The company recently sold 51% of a subsidiary that buys apparel from various manufacturers. Without these extra costs of these business, earnings jumped 19.4%, to $817.3 million from $684.5 million. Earnings per share rose 26.2%, to $2.60 from $2.06, on fewer shares outstanding.

Limited’s strong balance sheet will help support its expansion plans. Long-term debt of $3.5 billion is a moderate 25% of its market cap. It also holds cash of $935 million, or $3.17 a share.

The stock trades at 17.2 times the $2.90 a share that limited should earn in fiscal 2013. The $1.00 dividend yields 2.0%.

Limited Brands is a buy.

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