Activists enhance the appeal of ATM makers

Article Excerpt

Both Diebold and NCR have recently attracted activist investors. That involvement should accelerate their growth plans and draw investor attention to their strong prospects. NCR CORP. $31 (New York symbol NCR; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 118.6 million; Market cap: $3.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.ncr.com) makes automated teller machines (ATMs), cash registers, self-serve checkouts and kiosks for theatres and arenas. In late 2015, private-equity firm Blackstone Group (New York symbol BX) purchased $820 million worth of NCR’s preferred shares, which can be converted to common shares at $30.00 each. If converted, all of these preferred shares would equal roughly 20% of NCR stock. In March 2017 Blackstone sold about half of its holdings. The possibility of further sales could weigh on NCR’s share price. In the three months ended December 31, 2017, revenue fell 1.1%, to $1.78 billion from $1.80 billion a year earlier. That’s mainly because banks are ordering fewer ATMs as more of…