price to sales ratio

ARKANSAS BEST CORP. $29 (Nasdaq symbol ABFS; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 25.3 million; Market cap: $733.7 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; Dividend yield: 0.4%; WSSF Rating: Average) lost $127.9 million, or $5.12 a share, in 2009. That figure included a $64-million writedown of goodwill and a one-time, $4.6-million pension contribution. Without these costs, the company would have lost $61.6 million, or $2.46 a share. Arkansas Best earned $29.2 million, or $1.14 a share, in 2008. Revenue fell 19.6%, to $1.5 billion from $1.8 billion, as the slow economy continues to hurt demand for the company’s trucking services. In response to the shrinking revenue and earnings, Arkansas Best has cut 700 jobs, or 7% of its workforce. That should lower its annual costs by $15 million to $18 million, starting this year. To further conserve cash, Arkansas Best has cut its dividend by 80.0%. The new annual rate of $0.12 yields 0.4%....

DEL MONTE FOODS CO. $15 (New York symbol DLM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 198.6 million; Market cap: $3.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 1.1%; WSSF Rating: Average) makes canned fruit, vegetables, sauces and soups. It also makes pet food. In its third quarter, which ended January 31, 2010, earnings fell 4.0%, to $57.2 million from $59.6 million a year earlier. Earnings per share fell 6.7%, to $0.28 from $0.30, on fewer shares outstanding. If you exclude a charge related to the early repayment of debt, it would have earned $0.34 a share in the latest quarter. Del Monte continues to benefit from its drive to improve productivity. This should cut its costs by $80 million in fiscal 2010. Del Monte is using the savings to increase its marketing activities. That’s helping it compete with private-label foods: Its sales rose 7.5% in the latest quarter, to $1.0 billion from $942.3 million....

DIAGEO PLC ADRs $66 (New York symbol DEO; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; ADRs outstanding: 626.2 million; Market cap: $41.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.9; Dividend yield: 3.6%; WSSF Rating: Above Average) is the world’s largest premium alcoholic beverage company. Spirits account for 73% of Diageo’s sales, followed by beer (22%) and wine (5%). Each American Depositary Receipt represents four Diageo common shares. Diageo owns some of the top brands in the alcoholic-beverage business, including Guinness stout, Smirnoff vodka, Johnnie Walker scotch whiskies, Captain Morgan rum, Baileys Original Irish Cream liqueur, J&B scotch whisky and Tanqueray gin. In the six months ended December 31, 2009 (Diageo’s fiscal year ends June 30), the company’s revenue rose 2.7%, to 5.2 billion pounds from 5.1 billion pounds a year earlier (1 British pound = $1.54 Canadian)....

THE BOEING CO. $72 (New York symbol BA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 757.0 million; Market cap: $54.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 2.3%; WSSF Rating: Above Average) will increase production of its 777 passenger jet to seven planes a month from five in mid-2011. In mid-2012, it will boost production of its 747 airliner to two planes a month from 1.5. The increases should let Boeing meet rising demand as the improving economy spurs airlines to replace aging planes. The company is also continuing to test its new 787 Dreamliner. Boeing is still on schedule to start delivering the new plane by the end of 2010. By 2013, it hopes to produce 10 Dreamliners a month, up from two a month now....

STANLEY BLACK & DECKER INC. $59 (New York symbol SWK; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 159.4 million; Market cap: $9.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 2.2%; WSSF Rating: Average) is the new name of The Stanley Works after the company recently completed its all-stock purchase of rival toolmaker Black & Decker Corp. Stanley shareholders own 50.5% of the combined company. Black & Decker investors own the remaining 49.5%. Stanley feels that it can find $350 million in annual savings by the end of the third year following the merger. (In 2009, Stanley earned $215.5 million, or $2.68 a share.) Most of these savings will come from combining plants, distribution networks and purchasing systems. However, big mergers like this often come with hidden risks. Stanley Black & Decker is a hold.

NEWMONT MINING CORP. $50 (New York symbol NEM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 491.0 million; Market cap: $24.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.3; Dividend yield: 0.8%; WSSF Rating: Average) is one of the world’s largest gold-mining companies. It has major mines in the U.S., Australia and Peru. Gold accounts for about 85% of Newmont’s revenue. The remaining 15% comes from copper, zinc and other metals. Most of Newmont’s copper comes from its 35.4% stake in the large Batu Hijau mining complex in Indonesia. Average gold prices rose 248.4%, from $279 an ounce in 2000 to $972 in 2009. Gold has fallen from the all-time high of $1,214.80 an ounce that it reached in late 2009, and now trades around $1,093....

LINAMAR CORP. $18 (Toronto symbol LNR; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 64.7 million; Market cap: $1.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 1.3%; SI Rating: Extra Risk) is Canada’s second-largest auto-parts maker after Magna International Inc. Linamar specializes in engines, transmissions and other precision-machined parts for the North American, European and Asian car and truck markets. The company has 37 plants in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Germany, Hungary, South Korea and China. The stock fell to $2.00 in March 2009. That’s because the recession hurt new-car sales. The bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler — both of which are Linamar customers — also added to the company’s uncertainty. In response, Linamar aggressively cut its costs, mostly by laying off workers. That should save it $60 million annually, starting this year. The company is also diversifying into non-automotive products. It now makes parts for lawnmowers, wind turbines and drilling equipment. It also owns Skyjack, which makes self-propelled, scissor-type elevating work platforms. Linamar now gets 10% of its sales from non-automotive products....

SHAWCOR LTD. $28 (Toronto symbol SCL.A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 70.5 million; Market cap: $2.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 1.0%; SI Rating: Average) gets 90% of its revenue by making sealants and coatings that protect onshore and offshore oil and natural-gas pipelines from corrosion. The remaining 10% comes from making industrial equipment, such as electrical wire and protective sheaths. Lower oil and natural-gas prices have hurt demand for ShawCor’s pipeline-coating services. The weak economy also dampened demand for its industrial products. That’s why ShawCor’s 2009 revenue fell 14.2%, to $1.2 billion from $1.4 billion in 2008. Despite the lower revenue, ShawCor’s 2009 earnings fell just 2.7%, to $131.1 million from $134.7 million. Earnings per share fell 1.6%, to $1.85 from $1.88, on fewer shares outstanding. ShawCor has upgraded its plants over the past few years. That has helped cut its operating costs. Lower prices for raw materials, such as steel and plastics, have also helped its earnings....

FINNING INTERNATIONAL INC. $18 (Toronto symbol FTT; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 170.9 million; Market cap: $3.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 2.4%; SI Rating: Above Average) sells, rents and repairs tractors, bulldozers, trucks and other heavy equipment made by Caterpillar Inc. Finning’s major customers are mainly in the western Canadian mining, forest-products and construction industries. It also operates in the U.K. and South America. Many of Finning’s customers have cut or delayed spending on new equipment because of the weak global economy. In response, Finning has cut 750 of its 12,000 employees since the third quarter of 2008. The layoffs should lower the company’s annual costs by $200 million by the end of 2010. In 2009, Finning’s revenue fell 20.9%, to $4.7 billion from $6.0 billion in 2008. Earnings rose 36.3%, to $130.8 million, or $0.77 a share, from $96.0 million, or $0.55 a share. However, if you exclude severance costs and other unusual items, earnings per share fell 44.4%, to $0.85 from $1.53....

SNC-LAVALIN GROUP INC. $52 (Toronto symbol SNC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 151.2 million; Market cap: $7.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 1.3%; SI Rating: Average) is a leading Canadian engineering and construction company. SNC designs and builds large-scale public-works projects, such as roads, bridges, transit systems and water-treatment plants. It also builds mines, chemical plants and electrical-power systems. The company gets 55% of its revenue from North America. SNC also runs plants and facilities for its clients. For example, in 2009 the company received a 29-year contract from the Province of Quebec to build and operate a new concert hall for the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. The new hall should open in mid-2011. Steady revenue streams from deals like this help cut SNC’s risk. The company now gets 30% of its revenue from services. In 2009, SNC’s revenue fell 14.1%, to $6.1 billion from $7.1 billion in 2008. That’s mainly because the recession prompted many of SNC’s clients in the mining, electrical-power and chemical industries to put off investing in new plants. However, SNC’s 2009 earnings rose 15.1%, to $2.36 a share (or a total of $359.4 million) from $2.05 a share (or $312.5 million) in 2008. SNC’s earnings mainly rose because it paid less for building materials and labour....