price to sales ratio

CHEVRON CORP. $123 (New York symbol CVX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 1.9 billion; Market cap: $233.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 3.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.chevron.com) plans to increase production at its Permian shale oil properties in west Texas by two-thirds, to 250,000 barrels a day, by 2020....

ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND CO., $44 (New York symbol ADM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 654.5 million; Market cap: $28.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; Dividend yield: 2.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.adm.com) processes corn, wheat, soybeans, canola, flax seed, peanuts, cocoa and other crops into a wide variety of food ingredients, such as flour, oils and sweeteners....

These two telecom firms are expanding through acquisitions. The cash flow from their new operations will help them maintain their high dividends. However, they’re both heavily reliant on traditional telephone services, which limits their growth potential.

FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS CORP....

NORDSTROM INC. $67 (New York symbol JWN; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 189.7 million; Market cap: $12.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.nordstrom.com) aims to sell part of its credit card business, which has $2 billion in outstanding loans, to a bank....

CEDAR FAIR L.P. $52 (New York symbol FUN; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Units outstanding: 55.8 million; Market cap: $2.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.5; Dividend yield: 5.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.cedarfair.com) lost $1.51 a share in the first quarter of 2014, compared to a loss of $1.95 a year earlier....

SONY CORP. ADRs $16 (New York symbol SNE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; ADRs outstanding: 1.0 billion; Market cap: $16.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; Dividend yield: 2.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.sony.com) has brought in a new restructuring plan that involves selling its money-losing Vaio personal computer business and cutting 3% of its workforce....

PFIZER INC. $30 (New York symbol PFE; Income Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 6.4 billion; Market cap: $192.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.9; Dividend yield: 3.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.pfizer.com) is the world’s largest maker of prescription drugs....

CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY CO. $64 (Toronto symbol CNR; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 824.5 million; Market cap: $52.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 5.0; Dividend yield: 1.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.cn.ca) operates Canada’s largest railway. Its 32,350-kilometre network stretches across the country and through the U.S. Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico.

Thanks to strong shipping volumes in the wake of the recession, CN’s revenue rose 43.5%, from $7.4 billion in 2009 to $10.6 billion in 2013.

Earnings jumped 68.4%, from $1.5 billion to $2.6 billion; while per-share earnings rose 88.9%, from $1.62 to $3.06, on fewer shares outstanding (all per-share amounts adjusted for a 2-for-1 stock split in November 2013).

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ENCANA CORP. $26 (Toronto symbol ECA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 740.9 million; Market cap: $19.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.2; Dividend yield: 1.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.encana.com) has agreed to buy shale oil properties in the Eagle Ford area of southern Texas for $3.1 billion (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). A separate deal to sell natural gas fields in eastern Texas for $530 million will help pay for this purchase.

Including Eagle Ford, Encana now has six core properties. The other five are: Montney (B.C.), Duvernay (Alberta), DJ Basin (Colorado), San Juan Basin (New Mexico) and the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (Louisiana). All of these areas contain large amounts of oil and natural gas liquids, such as butane and propane. That cuts Encana’s exposure to weak gas prices.

The stock is up 35% since Encana said it would expand its oil production in November 2013. Even so, it trades at a moderate 7.2 times the company’s projected 2014 cash flow of $3.31 a share.

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IGM FINANCIAL INC. $54 (Toronto symbol IGM; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 252.4 million; Market cap: $13.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 5.1; Dividend yield: 4.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.igmfinancial.com) continues to benefit as rising stock markets spur the value of its clients’ holdings.

As of April 30, 2014, IGM had $138.25 billion worth of assets under management, up 10.0% from $125.7 billion a year earlier. The company’s fee income rises and falls with the value of the securities it manages, so its revenue and earnings gain when the price of these assets rises.

IGM Financial is a buy.

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