price to sales ratio

SHAWCOR LTD. $43 (Toronto symbol SCL.A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 70.2 million; Market cap: $3.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.4; Dividend yield: 0.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.shawcor.com) jumped over 20% in early September after it announced that it will conduct a strategic review of its operations. This could lead to a sale of the company.

ShawCor makes sealants and coatings that keep oil and natural gas pipelines from rusting. It also manufactures industrial products, such as electrical wire and protective sheaths.

However, there is no deadline for this review, so any takeover offer could still be months away.

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MANITOBA TELECOM SERVICES INC. $34 (Toronto symbol MBT; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 66.7 million; Market cap: $2.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 5.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.mtsallstream.com) gets 55% of its revenue from its 1.3 million telephone and wireless customers in Manitoba. The remaining 45% comes from its Allstream division, which sells integrated telephone, Internet and other communication services to businesses across Canada.

The company continues to benefit from recent upgrades to its high-speed Internet and wireless networks.

In the quarter ended June 30, 2012, it had 94,743 Internet TV users, up 3.4% from a year earlier. As well, high-speed Internet subscribers rose 1.8%, to 189,708, while wireless subscribers increased 0.2% to 490,498. These gains helped offset declines in residential (down 6.5%) and business phone customers (down 3.0%).

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BELL ALIANT INC. $27 (Toronto symbol BA, Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 229.0 million; Market cap: $6.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.3; Dividend yield: 7.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.bellaliant.ca) sells telephone and Internet services to 2.6 million customers in Atlantic Canada and rural parts of Ontario and Quebec. It also sells wireless services through an alliance with BCE, which owns 44% of Bell Aliant.

The company continues to replace its copper-wire cables with fibre optic lines. That’s letting it sell more high-speed Internet and digital TV services, which are offsetting falling demand for land lines. (Traditional phones still supply 55% of Bell Aliant’s overall revenue.)

The company’s fibre optic systems now reach 574,000 homes. It aims to increase that to 650,000 by the end of 2012.

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eBay has moved far beyond its original auction website business in the past 17 years. It’s now a complete e-commerce platform that helps merchants sell their goods and collect payments. Demand for the company’s services should keep rising, particularly in developing countries, where online shopping is growing and there are fewer traditional retailers to compete with. eBay now gets over half of its sales from outside the U.S. EBAY INC. $48 (Nasdaq symbol EBAY; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.3 billion; Market cap: $62.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.8; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.ebay.com) launched its online auction site in September 1995. It now has 104.8 million users worldwide. The company charges users fees to list and sell their goods through its websites. On top of used goods, the company is also selling more merchandise from retailers. That’s helping it compete with Amazon.com. Right now, sales of new items at fixed prices account for over 60% of eBay’s total transactions....

Prices for wheat, corn and other commodities are up sharply in 2012. That’s hurting profit margins at these four leading food producers. But that hasn’t stopped all four stocks from moving up in the past year. That’s because they continue to do a good job of streamlining their operations. They’re also benefiting from acquisitions, new products and rising sales in developing countries. GENERAL MILLS INC. $40 (New York symbol GIS, Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 645.2 million; Market cap: $25.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.generalmills.com) is one of the world’s largest food makers. Its top brands include Big G (cereal), Green Giant (canned and frozen vegetables), Pillsbury (baking dough), Old El Paso (tacos) and Progresso (soups and sauces)....

DUN & BRADSTREET CORP. $80 (New York symbol DNB; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 44.9 million; Market cap: $3.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1; Dividend yield: 1.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.dnb.com) shot up from around $70 in late July 2012 on reports that the company may be trying to sell itself. Dun & Bradstreet recently cut its full-year revenue outlook for 2012 because the slowing global economy is hurting demand for its credit reports. It now expects revenue to rise between 0% and 3%, down from its earlier forecast of 3% to 5%. However, an ongoing cost-cutting plan should continue to push up its earnings. Until the company provides more information, we see the stock as a hold.

CEDAR FAIR L.P. $33 (New York symbol FUN; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Units outstanding: 55.5 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.7; Dividend yield: 4.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.cedarfair.com) reported revenue of $881 million from the beginning of the year through the Labour Day holiday weekend. That’s up 4.8%, from the same period in 2011. New rides and attractions are helping Cedar Fair draw more visitors to its 11 amusement parks and seven water parks. Overall attendance rose 1%, while average spending per guest gained 4%. The partnership still plans to raise its annual distribution rate from $1.60 a unit (4.8% yield) in 2012 to $2.00 (6.1% yield) in 2013. Cedar Fair is a buy.

QUAKER CHEMICAL CORP. $47 (New York symbol KWR; Income Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 13.0 million; Market cap: $611.0 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.9; Dividend yield: 2.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.quakerchem.com) makes lubricants and chemicals that keep mechanical parts from rusting. The company continues to buy smaller firms that add to its expertise and expand its foreign operations, which now provide about 60% of its revenue. Its latest purchase was Italy-based NP Coil Dexter Industries, which makes chemicals that carmakers and other industrial clients use to prepare metal surfaces before applying paint or other coatings. This prevents corrosion and helps paint form a stronger bond. Quaker did not say how much it paid, but NP Coil Dexter will add $11 million to its annual revenue....

Sales of automated teller machines (ATMs) continue to rise. That’s partly because banks in the developing world are buying more ATMs as they continue to expand their operations. ATMs also have appeal to banks in developed countries because they help them lower their labour costs. NCR and Diebold are benefiting from both of these trends. Moreover, both stocks trade at attractive multiples to earnings. NCR CORP. $23 (New York symbol NCR; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 159.1 million; Market cap: $3.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.ncr.com) is a leading maker of ATMs, checkout scanners, cash registers and self-serve kiosks. NCR is benefiting from its $1.2-billion purchase of Radiant Systems Inc. in August 2011. Radiant makes point-of-sale terminals and self-serve kiosks for hotels, restaurants and gas stations. NCR also sold its struggling DVD-rental kiosk business for $100 million. These moves pushed up NCR’s revenue by 10.8% in the second quarter of 2012, to $1.4 billion from $1.3 billion a year earlier. Earnings jumped 48.9%, to $67 million, or $0.41 a share, from $45 million, or $0.28....

SHERWIN-WILLIAMS CO. $146 (New York symbol SHW; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 102.6 million; Market cap: $15.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 1.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www. sherwin-williams.com) earned $227.8 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2012, up 27.2% from $179.1 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 30.7%, to $2.17 from $1.66, on fewer shares outstanding. Sales rose 9.3%, to $2.6 billion from $2.4 billion. Demand for the company’s paints has moved up as the U.S. housing market continues to recover. That’s making it easier for Sherwin to increase its prices to cover its rising raw material costs (the company uses oil to make its paint). However, the stock has gained 92% in the past year, and now trades at a high 22.9 times Sherwin’s projected 2012 earnings of $6.38 a share. Sherwin-Williams is a hold.