Go beyond the big banks with these leaders

Article Excerpt

We continue to recommend investors diversify their Finance sector holdings with non-banking stocks. You can further cut your risk with high-quality firms that dominate their niche markets, such as eBay and Broadridge. EBAY INC. $39 is a buy. The company (Nasdaq symbol EBAY; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 549.4 million; Market cap: $21.4 billion; Price to-sales ratio: 2.3; Dividend yield: 2.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.ebay.com) operates e-commerce websites, in over 190 countries, where sellers pay fees to auction items or offer them at fixed prices. eBay’s revenue in the second quarter of 2022 fell 5.9%, to $2.42 billion from $2.67 billion a year earlier. The decline is mainly because stores are re-opening as COVID-19 lockdowns end. As a result, consumers are buying fewer goods online. Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV), the total value of merchandise sold on eBay’s platform, fell 17.9% in the latest quarter to $18.5 billion from $22.6 billion a year earlier. The lower revenue also cut eBay’s overall earnings by 17.9%, to…