price to sales ratio

< p> 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) gets 60% of its revenue from its MTS division, which has 1.3 million telephone, wireless and TV customers in Manitoba. < p>The other 40% comes from Allstream, which sells phone and Internet services to businesses across Canada. < p>As part of a plan to make Allstream more profitable, Manitoba Telecom aims to cut 25% of the subsidiary’s workforce and reduce its capital spending by 20% to 30%. These moves should save $50 million annually by the end of 2016 and make it easier for Manitoba Telecom to sell this business....

ENBRIDGE INC. $56 (Toronto symbol ENB; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 860.1 million; Market cap: $48.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.enbridge.com) gets 85% of its revenue from pipelines that pump oil and natural gas from Western Canada to Eastern Canada and the U.S. The remaining 15% mainly comes from distributing gas to 2.1 million consumers in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and New York State.The company recently completed the major reorganization it announced in December 2014.

< p>Under the plan, Enbridge transferred some of its assets to 19.9%-owned affiliate Enbridge Income Fund Holdings Inc. (Toronto symbol ENF). This company owns 42% of Enbridge Income Fund (Enbridge Inc. owns the remaining 58%), which holds oil and gas pipelines and solar and wind farms. The transfer included pipelines that pump oil sands crude to the U.S., along with wind farms in Alberta and Quebec. < p>Transactions like this, called drop-downs, free up cash the parent company can use for new projects. The affiliate also benefits, because the new assets’ cash flow helps it maintain or raise its distributions to investors. The reorganization freed up more cash for dividends: Enbridge raised its quarterly payout by 32.9% with the March 2015 payment, to $0.465 a share from $0.35; the new annual rate of $1.86 yields 3.3%. The company now aims to pay out 75% to 85% of its adjusted annual earnings as dividends, up from its old target of 60% to 70%....

SUNCOR ENERGY INC. $37 (Torontosymbol SU; Conservative Growth Portfolio,Resources sector; Shares outstanding:1.5 billion; Market cap: $55.5billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5; Dividendyield: 3.1%; TSINetwork Rating:Average; www.suncor.com) is takingadvantage of low oil prices with its allstocktakeover offer for Canadian OilSands (Toronto symbol COS).

< p>Canadian Oil Sands’ main asset isits 36.74% stake in the massiveSyncrude oil sands development nearFort McMurray, Alberta. It alsooperates the project. Suncor alreadyowns 12.0% of Syncrude, so thispurchase would give it effectivecontrol, with a 48.74% stake. < p>Equipment failures and other problemshave hurt Syncrude’s productionin the past few years, and Suncorfeels its expertise running similarprojects will make Syncrude moreefficient and profitable. In the secondquarter of 2015, Suncor’s cash costsin the oil sands were $28.15 a barrel,compared to $54.45 at Syncrude....

Drug stocks operate under distinct negatives. For example, new drugs take years to win regulatory approval, if ever. As well, they face increasing litigation and aggressive competition from generics. However, we feel Pfizer will continue to overcome these challenges. Its high research spending is letting it replace drugs whose patents are expiring. The company also recently acquired Hospira, an innovative firm that’s successfully developing and selling a new class of drugs called biosimilars. These treatments give Pfizer a new source of growth to offset sales lost to generic drug makers. The stock is up 65.0% for us since we first recommended it in our July 2011 issue, but we feel it still has plenty of gains ahead....

CONAGRA FOODS INC. $40 (New York symbol CAG; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 429.2 million; Market cap: $17.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 2.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.conagrafoods.com) paid $4.75 billion for Ralcorp Holdings, the largest private-label food maker in the U.S., in January 2013. However, strong competition and higher ingredient costs have hurt Ralcorp’s earnings. In response, ConAgra aims to sell Ralcorp by the end of 2015. Excluding Ralcorp’s contribution and unusual items, ConAgra’s earnings rose 15.4% in its fiscal 2016 first quarter, which ended August 30, 2015, to $0.45 a share from $0.39 a year earlier. Sales gained 1.1%, to $2.79 billion from $2.76 billion. Consumer foods, such as Chef Boyardee canned pasta and Hunt’s tomato sauce, now supply 61% of ConAgra’s revenue. These products’sales fell 0.3%, as unfavourable currency rates offset higher selling prices....

These three small-cap manufacturers continue to dominate their niche industries. They’re staying ahead of the competition by developing innovative products or building their businesses through timely acquisitions. But all three operate in cyclical industries, and their share prices have fallen lately as economic growth slows. The high U.S. dollar is also hurting the contribution from their overseas operations. We feel they’ll need signs of improving global growth to move higher. TENNANT CO. $55 (New York symbol TNC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 18.3 million; Market cap: $1.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 1.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www. tennantco.com) makes industrial floor-cleaning equipment, including scrubbers, sweepers and polishers. It also manufactures cleaning gear for garages, stadiums, parking lots and city streets....

DIEBOLD INC. $30 (New York symbol DBD; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 65.0 million; Market cap: $2.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 3.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.diebold.com) continues to move ahead with a major restructuring aimed at improving its efficiency and shifting its focus from building automated teller machines to services and software. The changes should save Diebold a total of $200 million by the end of 2017. It plans to devote $100 million of that to acquisitions and other investments. Meantime, Diebold’s earnings fell 46.6% in the three months ended June 30, 2015, to $22.2 million, or $0.34 a share. A year earlier, it earned $41.6 million, or $0.64. If you exclude restructuring costs, earnings per share declined 6.4%, to $0.44 from $0.47. However, its gross profit margin improved to 26.0% from 25.5%....

MCKESSON CORP. $198 (New York symbol MCK; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 232.0 million; Market cap: $45.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; Dividend yield: 0.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.mckesson .com) is buying UDG Healthcare’s wholesale distribution operations. These businesses deliver prescription drugs and other products to drugstores in Ireland and Northern Ireland. McKesson also recently agreed to acquire 281 Sainsbury’s pharmacies in the U.K. The company expects to complete these purchases in the first half of 2016. It will pay roughly $600 million for both of these businesses, which together should add $0.10 to $0.14 a share to its annual earnings. To put these figures in context, McKesson earned $2.6 billion, or $11.11 a share, in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015. These purchases are part of the company’s plan to cut its reliance on North America, which accounts for 90% of its revenue. However, using acquisitions to expand adds risk....

INTERNATIONAL FLAVORS & FRAGRANCES INC. $105 (New York symbol IFF; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 80.7 million; Market cap: $8.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.7; Dividend yield: 2.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.iff.com) makes over 36,000 compounds that improve the taste of food and the smell of consumer products. IFF recently paid $311 million for Lucas Meyer Cosmetics, a Quebec-based company that supplies ingredients to makers of cosmetics and personal care products. It also acquired Henry H. Ottens Manufacturing, a private Philadelphia-based firm that makes flavourings for major food makers. IFF paid $199.2 million for this business....

GE and ABB (see box) continue to cut costs and sell less important assets, which puts them in a better position to withstand the slowdown in global growth. These moves will also spur their earnings when economic expansion picks up. GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. $25 (New York symbol GE; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 10.1 billion; Market cap: $252.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.7; Dividend yield: 3.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.ge.com) has received approval from U.S. and European regulators for its alliance with France’s Alstom SA, a leading maker of parts for power plants and transmission gear. Under the deal, GE will form three 50/50 joint ventures with Alstom: one will combine their electrical grid operations, while a second will focus on products for renewable energy projects. The third will hold Alstom’s nuclear power equipment division....