Tim focuses on small towns

Article Excerpt

TIM HORTONS INC. $29 (Toronto symbol THI; Aggressive Growth Portfolio; Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 180.6 million; Market cap: $5.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.5; SI Rating: Average) operates roughly 3,400 coffee-and-donut stores, including 500 in the United States. The recession has slowed Tim Hortons’ sales. At the same time, higher food and coffee costs are squeezing its profit margins. Despite this, Tim Hortons plans to open 150 to 180 new stores this year. Most of these will be in smaller markets, where there are few competitors. The new stores should help Tim Hortons achieve its goal of increasing this year’s operating profits by 11% to 13%. Tim Hortons is a buy. buy…