Topic: How To Invest

Hi Pat: What is your opinion of Uni-Select? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

Uni-Select, $26.61, symbol UNS on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 22.9 million; Market cap: $609.4 million; www.uniselect.com), distributes auto parts and related tools and equipment. The company is the second-largest distributor of auto parts in Canada and the sixth-largest in the U.S. In the three months ended September 30, 2011, Uni-Select’s sales rose 40.9%, to $472.5 million from $335.3 million. The gain was mostly due to the contribution of FinishMaster, which Uni-Select bought for $217 million in December 2010. FinishMaster is the largest independent distributor of automotive paints, coatings and related accessories in the U.S. Uni-Select’s earnings per share rose 8.2% in the latest quarter, to $0.79 from $0.73 a year earlier. The company’s growth-by-acquisition strategy adds risk, as does its long-term debt of $340.2 million (or a high 56% of market cap). Still, Uni-Select’s outlook is positive, and the stock trades at just 8.8 times the company’s forecast 2012 earnings of $3.02 a share. The shares yield 1.8%. Uni-Select is okay to hold. …