They’re poised for post-pandemic gains

Article Excerpt

Genuine Parts and Snap-On both stand to gain as COVID-19 shutdowns ease and car sales rebound. However, we feel Genuine’s businesses outside of auto parts and wider geographic presence better protects it from possible future shutdowns. GENUINE PARTS CO. $115 is a buy. The company (New York symbol GPC; Income Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 144.3 million; Market cap: $16.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; Dividend yield: 2.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.genpt.com) is a leading seller of replacement auto parts. It has 1,100 company-owned stores (under the famous NAPA banner) and independent outlets in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Genuine also distributes industrial parts and electrical equipment. The company’s sales in the three months ended December 31, 2020, fell 0.7%, to $4.25 billion from $4.28 billion a year earlier. The sales slip was driven by lower sales at its stores due to COVID-19 restrictions. That offset the benefit of acquisitions (up 0.8%) and favourable foreign currency rates (up 1.7%). However, the company continues…