Topic: How To Invest

Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, February 23, 2018

Article Excerpt

GENUINE PARTS CO., $94.53, New York symbol GPC, sells replacement auto parts through 1,100 outlets under the NAPA banner; and the company’s distribution business serves 4,900 independent stores in North America, Australia and New Zealand. Genuine also distributes industrial parts, office products and electrical equipment. In November 2017, the company acquired Alliance Automotive Group. Based in France, that privately held firm distributes automotive parts to 30,000 garages and car repair shops in France, the U.K. and Germany. It does that through 330 company-owned stores and 1,500 affiliated outlets. Genuine paid $2 billion, which includes Alliance’s debt. Thanks to the new operations, Genuine’s overall sales in the fourth quarter of 2017 rose 11.3%, to $4.21 billion from $3.78 billion a year earlier. That beat the consensus forecast of $4.05 billion. If you exclude costs to absorb the new operations and the positive impact of changes to the U.S. tax code, the company’s earnings gained 15.1% in the quarter, to $175.6 million from $152.5 million. However,…