Special factors justify high p/e

Article Excerpt

THOMSON REUTERS CORP. $272 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol TRI; Conservative-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Manufacturing Sector; Shares o/s: 449.7 million; Market cap: $122.3 billion; Dividend yield: 1.2%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.thomsonreuters.com) sells specialized information and software to the legal, tax and accounting fields. It also owns the Reuters news service. With the March 2025 payment, Thomson raised your quarterly dividend by 10.2%. Investors now receive $0.595 a share instead of $0.54 (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). The new annual rate of $2.38 yields 1.2%. The company expects its revenue (excluding acquisitions and currency rates) to rise between 7.0% and 7.5% in 2025. Its earnings should rise about 2% to $3.84 a share. The stock, which is up about 15% in the past year, trades at 51.2 times that forecast. While that’s a high multiple, it’s still reasonable in light of Thomson’s strong brands, high market share and recurring revenue. It also has limited tariff risk. Thomson Reuters is…