price to sales ratio

NCR CORP. $21 (New York symbol NCR; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 158.8 million; Market cap: $3.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.ncr.com) has paid an undisclosed sum for three Brazilian firms that make cash registers and other point-of-sale equipment for restaurants. These purchases should help NCR increase its share of this market, which is growing by 10% a year. Restaurant spending should also keep rising in Brazil, particularly because the country is hosting the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. NCR is a buy.

The uncertain economy and weak consumer confidence have held back computer sales. However, demand should increase in the next few months, particularly as businesses look to boost their productivity by upgrading their computers. In addition, rising interest in cloud computing will increase sales of mainframe computers, servers and consulting services. APPLE INC. $575 (Nasdaq symbol AAPL; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 935.1 million; Market cap: $537.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.8; Dividend yield: 1.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.apple.com) is now the largest publicly traded company in the world based on market cap, thanks to the huge success of its mobile devices, such as the iPhone smartphone and the iPad tablet computer. These products are also attracting more attention to Apple’s Mac desktop and laptop computers. In its 2012 second quarter, which ended March 31, 2012, the company sold 11.8 million iPads, up 151.3% from a year earlier. iPhone sales jumped 88.0%, to 35.1 million units. That’s partly because the company recently signed new deals that let more Chinese wireless carriers sell the device....

MICROSOFT CORP. $30 (Nasdaq symbol MSFT; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 8.4 billion; Market cap: $252.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.5; Dividend yield: 2.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.microsoft.com) is buying Yammer Inc. for $1.2 billion. This private company operates an online social network for businesses. Over 200,000 companies now use this service. Microsoft will probably add Yammer’s features to its Office suite of business programs. That would make it easier for Office users to collaborate on projects. Yammer should also add to Microsoft’s cloud computing expertise. Microsoft is a buy.

APACHE CORP. $85 (New York symbol APA; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 390.8 million; Market cap: $33.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.8; Dividend yield: 0.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.apachecorp.com) has announced a major new shale gas discovery in the Horn River region of northeastern British Columbia. This single field could contain 48 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. To put that in context, discoveries in the entire region so far total 78 trillion cubic feet. Even with today’s low gas prices, this discovery has huge potential. It also makes it more likely that the company will build a facility in Kitimat, B.C., to convert gas to a liquid form. Ships would then deliver the gas to markets in Asia. Apache and its partners will likely make a final decision on this project by the end of 2012. Apache is a buy.

These two Midwest utilities have risen sharply in the past year, mainly because their high dividend yields have attracted more income-seeking investors. However, both must spend heavily to comply with stricter environmental regulations. As well, regulators are less likely to approve rate increases due to the slow U.S. economy. We still like both, but we see only one as a buy right now. AMEREN CORP. $33 (New York symbol AEE; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 242.6 million; Market cap: $8.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 4.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.ameren.com) sells power and natural gas to 3.3 million clients in Illinois and Missouri. In the three months ended March 31, 2012, Ameren’s earnings fell 11.7%, to $53 million, or $0.22 a share. A year earlier, it earned $60 million, or $0.25 a share. These figures exclude unusual items, such as a recent writedown of a coal-fired power plant....

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC. $44 (New York symbol VZ, Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 2.8 billion; Market cap: $123.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 4.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.verizon.com) continues to upgrade its high-speed wireless networks to Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology, which is up to five times faster than today’s systems. These upgrades will help Verizon profit from rising use of smartphones and new wireless services, such as video calling. The company recently added 46 cities to its LTE network and expanded coverage in 22 of the cities it already covers. This makes it the largest provider of LTE service in the U.S., serving 304 cities representing two-thirds of the population. Verizon is a buy.

PETSMART INC. $66 (Nasdaq symbol PETM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 108.4 million; Market cap: $7.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 1.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.petsmart.com) continues to see strong sales growth at its 1,241 pet supply stores in the U.S. and Canada. As a result, it has raised its quarterly dividend by 17.9%, to $0.165 a share from $0.14. The new annual rate of $0.66 yields 1.0%. The company also plans to buy back $525 million worth of its shares by January 2014. That’s equal to 7% of its current market cap. PetSmart is a buy. 3M COMPANY $87 (New York symbol MMM; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 693.9 million; Market cap: $60.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.0; Dividend yield: 2.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.3m.com) is buying the signal technologies business of Federal Signal Corp. (New York symbol FSS). These operations make machines and software that help governments and businesses collect road tolls and manage parking lots. This purchase nicely complements 3M’s existing traffic-control products, such as reflective parking signs, pavement markers and licence plate stickers....

CONAGRA FOODS INC. $25 (New York symbol CAG; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 415.4 million; Market cap: $10.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 3.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.conagrafoods.com) makes a wide variety of packaged foods, including Chef Boyardee canned pasta, Hunt’s tomato sauce, Peter Pan peanut butter and Orville Redenbacher popcorn. In ConAgra’s 2012 fiscal year, which ended May 27, 2012, sales rose 7.8%, to $13.3 billion from $12.3 billion in fiscal 2011. That’s partly due to several recent acquisitions. The company also raised its prices to offset higher ingredient costs. Earnings per share rose 5.1%, to $1.84 from $1.75. These figures exclude several unusual items, such as losses on commodity-hedging contracts and costs related to changes in the way the company accounts for contributions to employee pension plans. ConAgra expects its earnings to rise to $1.97 a share in fiscal 2013. The stock trades at 12.7 times that estimate. The annual dividend rate of $0.96 yields 3.8%....

STANLEY BLACK & DECKER INC. $62 (New York symbol SWK; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 170.9 million; Market cap: $10.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; Dividend yield: 2.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.stanleyblackanddecker.com) is one of the world’s largest makers of hand and power tools for consumers. Its top-selling brands include Stanley, Black & Decker, FatMax and Powerlock. This business supplied 51% of Stanley’s 2011 sales and 46% of its earnings. The company’s building-security division makes locks, automatic doors and gates. It also monitors properties for its clients, typically through closed-circuit audio and TV systems. This division accounts for 25% of Stanley’s sales and 27% of its earnings. The remaining 24% of sales and 27% of earnings comes from selling specialized tools to industrial users, such as auto mechanics and construction firms....

EMERA INC. $33 (Toronto symbol EMA; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 123.5 million; Market cap: $4.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.9; Dividend yield: 4.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.emera.com) gets 75% of its revenue and 65% of its earnings from Nova Scotia Power Inc., which is that province’s main electricity supplier. Emera also continues to expand outside Nova Scotia.

The company owns the Brunswick Pipeline, which pumps natural gas from the U.S. to a liquefied natural gas plant in Saint John, New Brunswick. It has also acquired electrical utilities in the U.S. and the Caribbean.

Revenue and earnings have soared

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