NCR CORP. $30

NCR CORP. $30 (New York symbol NCR; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 123.9 million; Market cap: $3.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.ncr.com) makes automated teller machines, cash registers, self-serve checkouts and kiosks for theatres and arenas. In the quarter ended March 31, 2016, NCR’s revenue fell 2.2%, to $1.4 billion from $1.5 billion a year earlier. Lower sales of ATMs offset higher revenue from its software and services operations. If you factor out currency rates, revenue was flat. Earnings in the quarter fell 16.4%, to $61 million from $73 million. Due to fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share declined at a slower rate of 11.6%, to $0.38 from $0.43. NCR now aims to reduce its annual costs by between $300 million to $400 million over the next five years. It will achieve this goal by cutting the number of ATM models it makes and improving the efficiency of its manufacturing operations. The savings will help with plans to buy back $250 million of its shares in 2016. The company will probably earn $2.93 a share this year, and the stock trades at just 10.2 times that forecast. NCR is a buy.

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