MTS SYSTEMS CORP. $59

MTS SYSTEMS CORP. $59 (Nasdaq symbol MTSC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 14.8 million; Market cap: $873.2 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.mts.com) makes equipment and software that manufacturers use to test the behaviour of materials, machines and structures. This helps its clients reduce errors and costs. The company also makes sensors for industrial equipment. MTS’s strong reputation continues to help it win new orders: in its fiscal 2016 first quarter, which ended January 2, 2016, new orders totaled $168.2 million. That’s up 24.3% from $135.3 million a year earlier. However, MTS’s sales declined 1.5%, to $140.5 million from $142.6 million a year earlier. If you exclude currency rates, sales increased 2.8%. Overall earnings declined 14.6%, to $11.8 million from $13.8 million. Per-share earnings fell 13.3%, to $0.78 from $0.90, on fewer shares outstanding. The company spends around 4% of its sales on research. MTS holds cash of $59.3 million, or $4.01 a share, and has no long-term debt. That gives it plenty of flexibility to buy back more shares or raise its $1.20- a-share dividend, which yields 2.0%. The company expects to earn $3.03 to $3.28 a share in fiscal 2016. The stock trades at a somewhat high 18.7 times the midpoint of that range. MTS Systems is a hold.