Record backlog cuts your risk

Article Excerpt

MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS INC. $278 is a buy. The company (New York symbol MSI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 167.0 million; Market cap: $46.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.9; Dividend yield: 1.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.motorolasolutions.com) makes communications equipment such as two-way radios for police and fire vehicles, as well as high-definition surveillance systems. It also makes software that helps governments manage their emergency response call centres. Motorola’s revenue in the three months ended June 30, 2023 rose 12.3%, to $2.40 billion from $2.14 billion a year earlier. Earnings in the quarter also jumped 28.0%, to $2.65 a share from $2.07. The company continues to win new orders—its backlog at the end of the quarter was a record $14.3 billion, up 6% from a year earlier. That should lift its 2023 earnings by about 11% to $11.48 a share; the stock trades at a reasonable 24.2 times that estimate, and the $3.52 dividend yields 1.3%. Motorola Solutions is a buy. buy. …