price to sales ratio

MAPLE LEAF FOODS INC. $21 (Toronto symbol MFI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 136.6 million; Market cap: $2.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.9; Dividend yield: 1.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.mapleleaf.ca) will soon complete a multi-year restructuring that mainly involves closing older meat-processing plants and shifting their operations to newer facilities. Thanks to these actions, Maple Leaf’s gross profit margin (gross profits as a percentage of revenue) jumped to 7.1% in the third quarter of 2015 from 0.5% a year earlier. However, the company has faced delays and higher-than-expected costs to start up these new plants, so it now expects to reach its goal of raising its gross profit margin to at least 10% in 2016 instead of 2015. Maple Leaf Foods is a hold.

BANK OF MONTREAL $77 (Toronto symbol BMO; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 642.5 million; Market cap: $49.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.9; Dividend yield: 4.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.bmo.com) is Canada’s fourth-largest bank, with $672.4 billion of assets. The bank has steadily expanded beyond Canada in recent years. For example, in 2011, it acquired Wisconsin-based banking firm Marshall & Ilsley for $4.0 billion in stock. That more than doubled the number of branches Bank of Montreal operates in the U.S. and added two million customers. In 2014, it paid $1.3 billion for U.K.-based wealth management firm F&C Asset Management, which sells investment services to individuals and institutional clients, such as pension plans and insurance companies....

CAE INC. $15 (Toronto symbol CAE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 269.3 million; Market cap: $4.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.8; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.cae.com) earned $47.7 million in its fiscal 2016 second quarter, which ended September 30, 2015, up 13.6% from $42.0 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose at a slower pace of 12.5%, to $0.18 from $0.16, on more shares outstanding. Revenue gained 16.5%, to $616.8 million from $529.4 million. About 90% of the company’s revenue comes from foreign customers, so it’s benefiting from the lower Canadian dollar. Sales of flight simulators and pilot-training services to airlines (59% of total revenue) jumped 23.4%. CAE sold 16 simulators during the quarter and expects its full-year total to be near the 41 it sold in fiscal 2015....

GREAT-WEST LIFECO INC. $35 (Toronto symbol GWO; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 993.2 million; Market cap: $34.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; Dividend Yield: 3.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.greatwestlifeco.com) is Canada’s second-largest insurance company, after Manulife Financial (Toronto symbol MFC). It also offers mutual funds, retirement planning and wealth management. Power Financial (Toronto symbol PWF) owns 67.2% of Great-West. As of September 30, 2015, the company had $1.15 trillion of assets under administration, up 12.9% from a year earlier. Great-West gets 45% of its earnings from Canada, where it operates under well-known labels like Great-West Life, Canada Life and Freedom 55....

IGM FINANCIAL INC. $38 (Toronto symbol IGM; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 245.8 million; Market cap: $9.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.1; Dividend yield: 5.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www. igmfinancial.com) is Canada’s largest independent mutual fund provider. Power Financial owns 59.8% of IGM. The company has two main divisions. Investors Group offers mutual funds and other services, such as portfolio management, through 5,200 affiliated advisors. This business forms close relationships with clients, which helps it retain them. In the past year, its redemption rate for long-term funds was 8.4%, well below the industry average of 15.6%. The other division, Mackenzie Financial, sells funds through independent brokers....

HOME CAPITAL GROUP INC. $33 (Toronto symbol HCG; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 70.2 million; Market cap; $2.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.9; Dividend yield: 2.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www. homecapital.com) is a mortgage lender that serves borrowers who don’t meet the stricter standards of larger, traditional lenders, like banks. The company offers most of its loans through 4,000 independent mortgage brokers. In July 2015, it cut ties with 45 of them after it uncovered inaccurate information on loan applications. Specifically, these brokers falsified borrowers’ annual incomes but not their credit scores and property values....

BLACKBERRY LTD. $9.84 (Toronto symbol BB; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 524.2 million; Market cap: $5.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; www.blackberry.com) has launched its first-ever smartphone powered by Google’s Android software....

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $61 (Toronto symbol BNS; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $73.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.4; Dividend yield: 4.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.scotiabank.com) has extended its Scene loyalty card program with Cineplex Entertainment (Toronto symbol CGX) for an additional 10 years, to October 31, 2025....

MANITOBA TELECOM SERVICES INC. $29 (Toronto symbol MBT; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 78.9 million; Market cap: $2.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 4.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.mtsallstream.com) has expanded its recent restructuring plan, under which it is cutting 25% of its Allstream subsidiary’s workforce and lowering this business’s capital spending by 20% to 30%....

MAPLE LEAF FOODS INC. $21 (Toronto symbol MFI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 136.6 million; Market cap: $2.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.9; Dividend yield: 1.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.mapleleaf.ca) will soon complete a multi-year restructuring that mainly involves closing older meat-processing plants and shifting their operations to newer facilities....