Narrower focus makes Sara Lee a buy

Article Excerpt

SARA LEE CORP. $12 (New York symbol SLE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 697.3 million; Market cap: $8.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; WSSF Rating: Above Average) is a leading maker of fresh and frozen baked goods, meats and other foods. Its major brands include Sara Lee (bread, cheesecake), Ball Park (wieners), Jimmy Dean (sausages), Hillshire Farms (deli meats) and Douwe Egberts (coffee). The company gets 16% of its revenue from its household and body-care products, such as soaps, shampoos, air fresheners, shoe polishes and insecticides. It mainly sells these outside of the U.S., in markets that include Europe, Asia and Africa. In North America and Europe, Sara Lee mainly sells to mass retailers and supermarkets. Wal-Mart, Sara Lee’s biggest customer, accounts for about 11% of the company’s total sales. Sara Lee also sells food to restaurants in North America. Spinoff cut sales, earnings Sara Lee’s sales fell from $19.3 billion in 2005 to $12.3 billion in 2007 after it spun off its…