Record results spur dividend hike

Article Excerpt

LINAMAR CORP. $50 (Toronto symbol LNR; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 64.8 million; Market cap: $3.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.9; Dividend yield: 0.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.linamar.com) continues to benefit from strong car sales, which have increased demand for its engines and transmissions. At the same time, rising construction activity has spurred sales of its self-propelled, scissor-type elevating work platforms, which it sells under the Skyjack name. In 2013, the company earned a record $3.34 a share, up 49.1% from $2.24 in 2012. Sales rose 11.6%, to a record $3.6 billion from $3.2 billion. The company also raised its quarterly dividend by 25.0%, from $0.08 a share to $0.10. The stock has nearly doubled in the past year, which is why the new annual rate of $0.40 yields just 0.8%. However, the stock is still attractive at 13.1 times Linamar’s likely 2014 earnings of $3.83 a share. Linamar is a buy. buy…