Topic: Growth Stocks

TENNANT CO. $63 – New York symbol TNC

TENNANT CO. $63 (New York symbol TNC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 18.5 million; Market cap: $1.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 1.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.tennantco.com) makes industrial floor-cleaning equipment, including scrubbers, sweepers and polishers. It also manufactures cleaning gear for garages, stadiums, parking lots and city streets.

The company continues to benefit from strong demand for products featuring its ec-H20 technology, which uses electricity to make tap water act like a detergent.

In 2013, Tennant’s sales rose 1.8%, to $752.0 million from $739.0 million in 2012. Overseas markets supply a third of the company’s sales. If you disregard the negative impact of currency exchange rates, sales rose 2.8%.

Earnings gained 7.3%, to $42.6 million from $39.7 million. Pershare earnings rose 8.7%, to $2.26 from $2.08, on fewer shares outstanding.

The company spends just 4% of its sales on research, but it continues to do a good job of developing energy-efficient equipment that uses fewer chemicals. It launched 20 new products in 2013 and aims to introduce 63 more by 2016. That should help it reach its goal of increasing its annual sales to $1 billion by 2017.

Tennant’s strong balance sheet will let it keep investing in new products. At the end of 2013, it held cash of $81.0 million, or $4.38 a share, and its longterm debt was just $28.0 million.

The company will probably earn $2.85 a share in 2014, and the stock trades at 22.1 times that estimate. That’s still a reasonable p/e ratio in light of Tennant’s unique products. The $0.72 dividend yields 1.1%.

Tennant is a buy.

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