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Coupang Inc. operates in a competitive market, but its growth prospects are positive, especially with its expansion into Taiwan.
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In 2012, Procter & Gamble began a major restructuring that included selling dozens of its less-important brands, closing plants and cutting jobs. The company expects to finish the plan in the next few months. Those efforts will greatly improve Procter’s long-term profitability, and spur its stock price. Higher earnings will also give it more room to buy back shares and hike dividends. PROCTER & GAMBLE CO. $80 (New York symbol PG; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 2.7 billion; Market cap: $216.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.0; Dividend yield: 3.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.pg.com) is one of the world’s largest makers of household and personal care goods. It began operating in the U.S. in 1837, and now sells its products in over 180 countries. Overseas markets account for 60% of its total sales....
TUPPERWARE BRANDS CORP. $60 (New York symbol TUP; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 50.5 million; Market cap: $3.0 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 4.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.tupperwarebrands.com) makes plastic food and beverage containers, as well as cosmetics and fragrances. In the three months ended March 26, 2016, Tupperware’s sales fell 9.6%, to $525.7 million from $581.8 million a year earlier. Earnings per share also fell 10.8%, to $0.91 from $1.02. Overseas markets supplied 75% of the company’s sales; without exchange rates, sales rose 1% and earnings per share gained 10%. Due to lower raw material costs, Tupperware raised its 2016 earnings forecast to $4.28 to $4.38 a share, excluding exchange rates. That’s up from its earlier range of $3.81 to $3.91. The stock trades at a reasonable 13.9 times the midpoint of its new range....
GANNETT CO., INC. $18 (New York symbol GCI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector: Shares outstanding: 116.5 million; Market cap: $2.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 3.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.gannett.com) publishes daily newspapers in 107 U.S. markets, including its flagship newspaper, USAToday. It also has 19 papers in the U.K., and over 200 magazines and other publications. The company has offered to buy Tribune Publishing Co. (New York symbol TPUB). This firm owns 11 daily papers, including the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, as well as 160 weekly papers and 120 websites. Including Tribune’s debt, the offer is worth $815 million. Eliminating overlapping operations would let Gannett cut $50 million from its annual costs; it earned $209.1 million, or $1.79 a share, in 2015....
TOYOTA MOTOR CO. ADRs $106 (New York symbol TM; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; ADRs outstanding: 1.5 billion; Market cap: $159.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; Dividend yield: 3.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.toyota.com) is the world’s largest carmaker. In its fiscal 2016 third quarter, which ended December 31, 2015, Toyota sold 2.22 million vehicles worldwide, down 2.1% from a year earlier. North American sales rose 2.2%. However, sales fell 4.5% in Europe, 1.0% in Japan and 3.2% in other parts of Asia. Revenue gained 1.9%, to $61.0 billion from $59.9 billion. Revenue in Japanese yen rose 2.4%. Cost cuts and favourable exchange rates boosted earnings per ADR by 4.7%, to $3.32 from $3.17 (each American depositary receipt equals two Toyota common shares)....