price to sales ratio

SUNCOR ENERGY INC. $35 (Toronto symbol SU; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 1.5 billion; Market cap: $52.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.suncor.com) is preparing to re-start its main oil sands projects near Fort McMurray, Alberta, now that the wildfires in the region have subsided....

MOLSON COORS CANADA INC. (Toronto symbols TPX.A $128 and TPX.B $133; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 214.7 million; Market cap: $28.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 6.2; Dividend yield: 1.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.molsoncoors.com) has received approval from competition regulators in Canada and Europe for its purchase of the 58% of MillerCoors held by its joint venture partner SABMiIler....

In general, stocks in the Resources & Commodities sector—as well as those in Manufacturing & Industry—expose you to above-average volatility. Those in either Finance or Utilities involve below average volatility. Consumer stocks fall in the middle.

A good way to cut your risk with Manufacturing stocks is to focus on market leaders, like the three we analyze below....

CGI GROUP INC. $61 (Toronto symbol GIB.A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 302.8 million; Market cap: $18.5 billion; Price-tosales ratio: 1.7; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www. cgi.com) is Canada’s largest provider of computer-outsourcing services....

We chose CAE as top Conservative stock for 2016, as it stands to profit from several long-term trends.

For example, the growing need for new airline pilots, particularly in Asia, will spur strong demand for its flight simulators and pilot-training services....

The fast-food industry faces several long-term challenges. These include the consumer shift to more nutritious foods and new laws to increase minimum wage rates. McDonald’s has a history of adapting to changing trends. The new plan is to increase sales through better food and customer service. It’s already paying off. The company is also cutting its costs by transferring more of its outlets to franchisees. McDonald’s will use most of the savings for share buybacks and dividends. That should continue to push the stock higher....

VISA INC. $79 (New York symbol V; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 2.4 billion; Market cap: $189.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 13.3; Dividend yield: 0.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.visa.com) operates the world’s largest electronic payments network. It can process over 65,000 credit, debit, prepaid and commercial transactions per second. Visa gets most of its revenue from the fees it charges card issuers and merchants that use its network. These fees are based on transaction volumes and other factors. The banks that issue the credit cards are responsible for evaluating customer creditworthiness and collecting payments, not Visa....

AMERICAN EXPRESS CO. $65 (New York symbol AXP, Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 951.0 million; Market cap: $61.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.0; Dividend yield: 1.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.americanexpress.com) is one of the world’s largest issuers of payment cards, with 118.6 million cards in use across 130 countries. Amex issues two types of cards: charge cards, which have no preset spending limit and must be paid in full each month; and traditional credit cards, which let users carry a balance. The company is also a bank that accepts deposits and makes loans. It cuts its credit risk by mainly catering to clients with above-average incomes and good credit histories. In the first quarter of 2016, Amex wrote off just 2.0% of its U.S. loans compared to 2.3% a year earlier. Its international write-off rate fell to 2.1% from 2.4%....

T. ROWE PRICE GROUP INC. $77 (Nasdaq symbol TROW; Aggressive Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 248.2 million; Market cap: $19.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.6; Dividend yield: 2.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.troweprice.com) sells mutual funds and wealth management services. Due to the downturn in stock markets since the start of the year, T. Rowe Price’s assets under management fell 1.0%, to $764.6 million as of March 31, 2016, from $772.7 billion a year earlier. However, its assets under management have increased 0.2% from $763.1 billion at the end of 2015. T. Rowe Price’s fee income varies with the value of the securities it administers, so its revenue during the first quarter of 2016 declined 3.2%, to $994.1 million from $1.0 billion....

APPLE INC. $100 (Nasdaq symbol AAPL; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 5.5 billion; Market cap: $550.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.4; Dividend yield: 2.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.apple.com) makes a variety of electronic devices, including iPhone smartphones, Mac computers, iPad tablets, iPod music players and Apple watches. It also sells software, movies and music through its iTunes online store. The company recently invested $1 billion for an undisclosed minority stake in Didi Chuxing. Similar to Uber, this private firm operates the largest ride-sharing service in China. The purchase should help Apple gain more insight into China’s fast-growing Internet economy. That’s important because it wants to expand Apple Pay— its mobile payment system— in that country. This investment could also help Apple improve its in-car entertainment and information products....