price to sales ratio

FINNING INTERNATIONAL INC. $31 (Toronto symbol FTT; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 172.1 million; Market cap: $5.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.finning.com) is the world’s largest dealer of tractors, bulldozers and trucks made by Caterpillar Inc. (New York symbol CAT). It also sells equipment made by other firms.

The company sells these products to customers in the mining, forest products and construction industries in Western Canada (50% of revenue, 47% of earnings), South America (37%, 45%) and the U.K. (13%, 8%).

Finning’s revenue rose 50.8%, from $4.5 billion in 2009 to $6.7 billion in 2013. That’s largely because prices for commodi- ties, like oil and coal, rebounded strongly after the recession, spurring heavy equipment demand.
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McDonald’s shares have moved sideways in the past few months, mainly because strong competition in the U.S. has hurt the company’s sales there.

However, McDonald’s has overcome many challenges in its long history. It faces constant attacks from health, environmental and labour activists....

These four small-cap Manufacturing & Industry picks are riskier than most of our large-cap selections in that sector. However, they’re all market leaders with strong reputations, which makes it harder for new competitors to steal their customers.

Moreover, all four are using their strong balance sheets to invest in new products and make acquisitions....

CINTAS CORP. $59 (Nasdaq symbol CTAS; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 120.1 million; Market cap: $7.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 1.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.cintas .com) is selling its document-shredding operations to Toronto-based Shred-it International....

GENERAL MILLS INC. $51 (New York symbol GIS, Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 614.5 million; Market cap: $31.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.9; Dividend yield: 3.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.generalmills.com) is one of the world’s largest food makers....

These two firms play increasingly important roles in the financial services industry. That’s because they help banks and other institutions cut their credit risk and comply with increasingly complex regulations. Both stocks are up sharply in the past year, but we feel they still have room to rise.

BROADRIDGE FINANCIAL SERVICES INC....

BOEING CO. $124 (New York symbol BA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 743.4 million; Market cap: $92.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 2.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www....

WAL-MART STORES INC. $76 (New York symbol WMT; Conservative Growth Portfolio: Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 3.2 billion; Market cap: $243.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; Dividend yield: 2.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.walmart.com) will soon let customers trade in their used video games for a credit they can use to buy other merchandise....

IDEXX LABORATORIES INC. $122 (Nasdaq symbol IDXX; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 51.6 million; Market cap: $6.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.8; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www....

DIEBOLD INC. $39 (New York symbol DBD; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 64.3 million; Market cap: $2.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.9; Dividend yield: 2.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.diebold.com) is a leading maker of automated teller machines (ATMs)....