Leon’s lifts its profit

Article Excerpt

LEON’S FURNITURE LTD. $16.77 (Toronto symbol LNF; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (416-243-7880; www.leons.ca; Shares outstanding: 71.9 million; Market cap: $1.2 billion; Dividend yield: 2.9%) operates 84 stores across Canada under the Leon’s banner. It also owns the Brick chain, which has 218 locations across the country. The company’s overall sales for the year ended December 31, 2016, were $2.1 billion. That’s a 5.5% increase over $2.0 billion for 2015. If you disregard unusual items, including a tax adjustment, earnings per share gained 16.3%, to $1.08 from $0.93. Leon’s will raise its quarterly dividend by 20.0% with the April 2017 payment, to $0.12 from $0.10. The shares now yield 2.9%. Leon’s is a buy. buy…