YUM! BRANDS INC. $92 (New York symbol YUM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio; Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 432.4 million; Market cap: $39.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.0; Dividend yield: 1.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.yum.com) aims to spur sales at its U.S. KFC restaurants with several new initiatives, including upgrading stores and launching new menu items. The company also plans a new series of TV and online ads featuring an actor playing Colonel Harland Sanders, the late founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken. The stock is up 26% since the start of 2015, partly due to speculation that Yum may spin off its KFC and Pizza Hut chains in China, which account for half of its revenue. Food-safety concerns and strong competition from other fast-food restaurants have hurt Yum’s Chinese operations in the past two years. Yum Brands is still a hold....

HEWLETT-PACKARD CO. $34 (New York symbol HPQ; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $61.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; Dividend yield: 1.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.hp.com) is selling 51% of its data-networking equipment and server business in China. Demand for these products has suffered on fears that the U.S. government is using them to collect data on Chinese companies. Hewlett will receive $2.3 billion when it completes the sale by the end of 2015. Meanwhile, its earnings fell 5.6% in the quarter ended April 30, 2015, to $1.6 billion from $1.7 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share declined 1.1%, to $0.87 from $0.88, on fewer shares outstanding. Revenue fell 6.8%, to $25.5 billion from $27.3 billion. The company still plans to split into two firms in November 2015: Hewlett-Packard Enterprise will sell computing products, like servers and analytics software, to businesses and governments, while HP Inc. will focus on personal computers and printers. Hewlett expects breakup-related costs of $400 million to $450 million....

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. $39 (New York symbol QSR, Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 467.0 million; Market cap: $18.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: n.a.; Dividend yield: 1.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.rbi.com) took its current form on December 12, 2014, after Burger King Worldwide (old symbol BKW) acquired Tim Hortons (old symbol THI). The company is the world’s third-largest fast-food operator, after McDonald’s and Yum Brands, with 14,387 Burger King outlets and 4,724 Tim Hortons locations in 100 countries. Franchisees own and operate all of these restaurants. If you assume the takeover occurred at the start of 2014, Restaurant Brands cut its loss to $8.1 million, or $0.04 a share, in the three months ended March 31, 2015, from $226.5 million, or $1.12, a year earlier....

Shares of these two toolmakers have risen strongly in the past few months. We like the long-term outlook for both of them, but we feel Stanley offers better value than Snap-On (see box) right now. STANLEY BLACK & DECKER INC. $103 (New York symbol SWK; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 153.7 million; Market cap: $15.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.stanleyblack anddecker.com) is one of the world’s largest makers of hand and power tools for consumers. Its top-selling brands include Stanley, Black & Decker, FatMax and Powerlock. This business supplies 62% of the company’s sales. Stanley also makes building-security products, such as locks and gates (19% of sales) and specialized tools for industrial users, including auto mechanics and construction firms (19%)....

SNAP-ON INC. $158 (New York symbol SNA; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 58.1 million; Market cap: $9.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.6; Dividend yield: 1.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.snapon.com) makes tools for auto mechanics and sells them through a fleet of franchised vans that visit garages. It also makes specialized tools for industrial customers. The company continues to benefit as the improving economy gives mechanics more cash to spend on tools. Its sales rose 5.1% in the quarter ended April 4, 2015, to $827.8 million from $787.5 million a year earlier. Without the impact of exchange rates and acquisitions, sales gained 9.9%. Earnings per share rose 15.4%, to $1.87 from $1.62. The stock hit a record high of $158 in May 2015. It now trades at 19.8 times the $7.98 a share Snap-On will likely earn this year. That’s a somewhat high p/e ratio for a company that serves the cyclical automotive industry. The $2.12 dividend yields 1.3%....

NORDSTROM INC. $74 (New York symbol JWN; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 191.0 million; Market cap: $14.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.nordstrom.com) first expanded to Canada in 2014, when it opened a department store in Calgary. It recently opened a second location in Ottawa. The company now plans to open four more Canadian stores in the next two years: three in Toronto and one in Vancouver. Meanwhile, it continues to add Nordstrom Rack stores, which sell off-price goods, and expand its e-commerce business. These developments helped boost Nordstrom’s sales by 9.7% in the three months ended May 2, 2015, to $3.2 billion from $2.9 billion a year earlier. Same-store sales gained 4.4%. However, the extra costs to open and run the new stores cut the company’s earnings per share by 8.3%, to $0.66 from $0.72....

MCKESSON CORP. $239 (New York symbol MCK; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 231.6 million; Market cap: $55.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; Dividend yield: 0.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.mckesson .com) paid $4.5 billion for 75.4% of Celesio AG in February 2014. Celesio is a German firm that distributes prescription drugs in Europe and Brazil. McKesson’s stake now stands at 76.0%. This acquisition increased McKesson’s revenue by 30.3% in its 2015 fiscal year, which ended March 31, 2015, to $179.0 billion from $137.4 billion in fiscal 2014. Excluding unusual items, earnings per share rose 29.2%, to $11.11 from $8.60. The company now expects to earn $12.20 to $12.70 a share in fiscal 2016, and the stock trades at 19.2 times the midpoint of that range. That’s a somewhat high p/e ratio, particularly if Celesio fails to meet expectations. As well, the upcoming launch of cheaper hepatitis C drugs could slow McKesson’s revenue growth....

BOEING CO. $143 (New York symbol BA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 691.5 million; Market cap: $98.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 2.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.boeing.com) is a leading maker of passenger jets, from which it gets 70% of its revenue and earnings. The remaining 30% comes from making military aircraft and satellites. The company continues to benefit as the improving economy encourages airlines to upgrade their aging fleets. Its revenue rose 41.1%, from $64.3 billion in 2010 to a record $90.8 billion in 2014. Overall earnings jumped 79.0%, from $5.0 billion to $8.9 billion, while per-share profits gained 93.3%, from $4.45 to $8.60, on fewer shares outstanding.

Dreamliner sales jump following delay

A big part of the company’s success comes from new planes it has developed in the past few years....

TUPPERWARE BRANDS CORP. $66 (www.tupperwarebrands.com) makes household products, including educational toys, and plastic food and beverage containers, as well as a range of cosmetics, bath oils and fragrances. In the first quarter of 2015, its revenue fell 12.3%, to $581.8 million from $663.2 million a year earlier. That’s mainly because the high U.S. dollar hurts the contribution of its overseas sales (85% of total revenue). Excluding unusual items and exchange rates, earnings declined 22.1%, to $1.02 a share from $1.31. Tupperware expects to earn $4.65 a share for all of 2015, and the stock trades at a moderate 14.2 times that estimate. Best Buy. CEDAR FAIR L.P. $59 (www.cedarfair.com) reported record revenue for the first quarter of 2015. However, this mainly reflects strong results at the one of its 11 amusement parks that stays open year-round. During the period, Cedar Fair’s revenue rose 15.7%, to $46.8 million from $40.4 million a year earlier, thanks to higher attendance and in-park spending on food and merchandise. Losses improved to $1.50 a unit from $1.51. Buy. AT&T INC. $35 (www.att.com) recently acquired two wireless carriers in Mexico for a total of $4.4 billion, which is equal to 2% of its $180.8-billion market cap. Demand for high-speed wireless service is growing strongly as Mexico’s middle class expands. Buy....

AIMIA INC, $14.19, symbol AIM on Toronto, owns and operates Aeroplan, Canada’s largest loyalty program, with over 4.8 million members who collect Aeroplan miles from participating companies. Members can exchange miles for flights, car rentals, hotel rooms and merchandise. The company also owns Nectar, the U.K.’s biggest loyalty program. In addition, it has interests in Air Miles Middle East and Nectar Italia, as well as Club Premier, Mexico’s leading loyalty program. On January 1, 2014, TD Bank replaced CIBC as Aeroplan’s main credit card issuer. Under a 10-year deal, TD is now launching new cards under the Aeroplan banner, including cards for frequent flyers and small businesses. The agreement also let CIBC hang on to Aeroplan accounts held by customers who also bank at CIBC, which was about half of the Aeroplan portfolio....