Three market leaders to cut your risk

Article Excerpt

Stocks in the Resource and Manufacturing & Industry sectors tend to be more volatile than those in the Finance, Utilities and Consumer sectors. That’s because demand for their products moves up and down with the economy. To cut your risk in the Manufacturing sector, it’s best to stick with well-established firms like the three we analyze below. All three are leaders in their niche markets, which helps them stay profitable during downturns and thrive when the economy recovers. They also have long histories of paying dividends. FINNING INTERNATIONAL INC. $25 (Toronto symbol FTT; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 172.0 million; Market cap: $4.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 2.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.finning.com) rents, sells and services heavy equipment made by U.S.-based Caterpillar Inc. (New York symbol CAT). Its main customers are in the oil, mining, forest products and construction industries. Canada supplies 50% of Finning’s revenue, followed by South America (37%) and the…