price to sales ratio

HONDA MOTOR CO. LTD. ADRs $35 (New York symbol HMC; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; ADRs outstanding: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $63.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; Dividend yield: 2.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.honda.com) is spending $61 million to increase capacity at its plant in Tapukara, India, by 50%, to 180,000 cars a year. The company expects to complete these upgrades in 2016. Honda’s other Indian facility makes 120,000 cars a year. The extra capacity will help Honda take advantage of rising car demand in the country: in the 11 months ended February 28, 2015, it sold 166,366 cars in India, up 43.5% from the same period a year earlier. At the same time, Honda plans to produce 39% more motorcycles in India by 2016. This expansion will cost the company $94.3 million....

J.P. MORGAN CHASE & CO. $63 (New York symbol JPM; Income Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 3.7 billion; Market cap: $233.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.5; Dividend yield: 2.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.jpmorganchase.com) earned $5.9 billion in the three months ended March 31, 2015, up 12.2% from $5.3 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 13.2%, to $1.45 from $1.28, on fewer shares outstanding. Without unusual items, Morgan earned $1.58 a share in the latest quarter. Revenue rose 4.1%, to $24.8 billion from $23.9 billion. Most of these gains came from the bank’s securities-trading division, where earnings jumped 19.4% on stronger volumes. It also saw higher fee income from advising firms on mergers. These increases helped offset slower growth in retail banking. Low interest rates continue to spur loan demand, but Morgan is earning less interest on the money it lends. At the same time, it has to pay more to attract depositors....

NEWELL RUBBERMAID INC. $39 (New York symbol NWL; Aggressive Growth and Income Portfolios, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 269.0 million; Market cap: $10.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.9; Dividend yield: 1.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.newellrubbermaid.com) makes plastic storage bins, tools, window blinds, pens and many other household goods. Newell is up 30.0% since we made it our Stock of the Year for 2014 at $30 in our February 2014 issue. That’s mainly because of its successful multi-year cost-cutting plan, which included closing plants and merging distribution centres. ...

p>CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY LTD. $232 (Toronto symbol CP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 164.2 million; Market cap: $38.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 7.1; Dividend yield: 0.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.cpr.ca) transports freight over a 22,000-kilometre rail network between Montreal and Vancouver, as well as hubs in the U.S. Midwest and Northeast. The U.S. supplies 40% of its revenue. CP’s shares have soared 236.2% since we made it our Stock of the Year for 2012, when it was trading at $69. That’s mainly due to a major restructuring that has improved its efficiency with new locomotives, better tracks and software that optimizes train loads and speeds.

Speedier service boosted results

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ATCO LTD. (Toronto symbols ACO.X [class I non-voting] $46 and ACO.Y [class II voting] $46; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 115.1 million; Market cap: $5.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 2.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.atco.com) owns 50% of Torngait Services, a partnership with a Labradorbased aboriginal firm.

Torngait recently won a contract to provide support services to 1,000 workers building a line that will transmit power from Labrador’s Muskrat Falls to the island of Newfoundland. Under the deal, Torngait will supply catering, laundry and janitorial services until mid-2018.

The contract is worth $40 million to $45 million; using the midpoint of that range, ATCO’s share is worth $21.25 million. That’s small next to the company’s revenue of $1.2 billion in the quarter ended December 31, 2014. However, deals like this enhance ATCO’s already strong reputation and should help it win more contracts in this region. The class I (X) non-voting shares are more liquid than the class II (Y) voting shares.

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p>MOLSON COORS CANADA INC. (Toronto symbols TPX.A $94 and TPX.B $99; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 185.9 million; Market cap: $18.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.5; Dividend yield: 2.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.molson coors.com) has paid an undisclosed sum for Mount Shivalik Breweries, which operates two breweries in India. As a result, Molson now has three breweries in that country. The company’s brewing expertise should make Shivalik more efficient. The move will also help it launch and distribute its own brands, including Coors Light, in India.

The class B shares have less voting power to elect directors than the class A shares, but they are more liquid and receive the same dividend.

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ENCANA CORP. $15 (Toronto symbol ECA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 839.6 million; Market cap: $12.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 2.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.encana.com) recently sold 98.5 million shares for $14.60 (Canadian) each, increasing the number outstanding by 13%. (All amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars.)

As well, Encana has sold natural gas pipelines and compression facilities in B.C.’s Montney region for $461 million (Canadian).

It will use the total proceeds of $1.9 billion (Canadian) to pay down its long-term debt of $7.3 billion (as of December 31, 2014), which is a high 73% of its market cap.

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CENOVUS ENERGY INC. $22 (Toronto symbol CVE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 824.5 million; Market cap: $18.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 4.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average) gets 35% of its revenue from its oil sands projects and conventional oil and gas wells in Western Canada.

Refining supplies the remaining 65% of Cenovus’s revenue. The company ships its oil to its 50%-owned refineries in Illinois and Texas. Phillips 66 (New York symbol PSX) owns the other 50% of these operations. These refineries help cut Cenovus’s exposure to falling oil prices, as cheaper crude cuts their operating costs.

Cenovus continues to expand its 50%-owned Christina Lake and Foster Creek oil sands operations; ConocoPhilips (New York symbol COP) owns the remaining 50%.

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p>BLACKBERRY LTD. $12 (Toronto symbol BB; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 528.8 million; Market cap: $6.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.9; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; www.blackberry.com) is best known for its BlackBerry smartphones. However, competition from Apple’s iPhone and Android-powered devices has cut the number of BlackBerry users worldwide to 37 million from 85 million in 2013. (All amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars.) The company also earns fees on software it installs on its clients’ email servers. These programs let its businesses and government clients manage their employees’ phones and encrypt sensitive data.

In response to its shrinking smartphone sales, BlackBerry has cut jobs and sold surplus real estate. If you exclude unusual items, the company lost $45 million, or $0.09 a share, in its 2015 fiscal year, which ended February 28, 2015. However, that’s a big improvement over its 2014 loss of $711 million, or $1.35 a share.

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p>FORTIS INC. $39 (Toronto symbol FTS; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 276.3 million; Market cap: $10.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.5; Dividend yield 3.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.fortis.ca) is the main electricity supplier in Newfoundland and P.E.I. It also distributes natural gas in B.C. and operates power plants in other parts of Canada, the U.S. and the Caribbean. Fortis plans to spend $9.0 billion to expand its operations over the next five years. That’s equal to 83% of its current market cap. Regulated utilities account for 93% of Fortis’s assets, so regulators will let it recover most of these outlays through rate increases.

Fortis is also looking at selling or spinning off its properties division, which consists of commercial real estate and 23 hotels. The company expects to make a final decision by June 2015.

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