Topic: Growth Stocks

SNAP-ON INC. $171 – New York symbol SNA

SNAP-ON INC. $171 (New York symbol SNA; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 58.1 million; Market cap: $9.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.7; Dividend yield: 1.4%; 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.

Snap-On continues to expand beyond the U.S., which supplies 65% of its revenue. In August 2015, it paid $13.1 million for Ecotechnic, an Italian maker of equipment for maintaining vehicle air conditioning systems. The purchase should add roughly $13 million to Snap-On’s annual revenue.

The company is also seeing strong demand for its tools and other products. In the three months ended October 3, 2015, its revenue gained 1.9%, to $821.5 million from $806.3 million a year earlier. Excluding exchange rates and acquisitions, sales gained 7.3%. Earnings per share rose 12.5%, to $1.98 from $1.76.

Snap-On has also raised its dividend by 15.1%. The new annual rate of $2.44 yields 1.4%.

The stock has gained 25% since the start of 2015 and now trades at 21.2 times the $8.05 a share that Snap-On will likely earn this year. That’s a somewhat high multiple for a company that gets 80% of its earnings from the cyclical automotive industry.

Snap-On is a hold.

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