Topic: Growth Stocks

TIM HORTONS $50.75 – Toronto symbol THI

TIM HORTONS $50.75 (Toronto symbol THI; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (905-845-6511; www.timhortons- .com; Shares outstanding: 154.9 million; Market cap: $7.9 billion; Dividend yield: 1.7%) operates 3,326 coffee-and-donut shops in Canada, 734 in the U.S. and 11 in the Middle East.

The company earned $0.70 a share in the three months ended July 1, 2012. That’s up 20.7% from $0.58 a share a year earlier. Sales rose 11.8%, to $785.6 million from $702.8 million. Tim Hortons opened 19 outlets in Canada, six in the U.S. and seven internationally during the quarter. Same-store sales (which exclude new outlets) rose 4.9% in the U.S. and 1.8% in Canada.

The company held its prices steady, but it benefited from new products, such as espresso drinks, and new hot drink sizes, including a 24-ounce cup. Tim Hortons’ breakfast business was especially strong in the latest quarter.

Tim Hortons now aims to take advantage of fastgrowing interest in home-coffee systems. It has reached an agreement with Kraft Foods to make and sell plastic cups, called T-Discs, filled with Tim Hortons coffee. Kraft’s Tassimo beverage machine uses the T-Discs to brew a fresh single cup.

The stock trades at 18.9 times the company’s forecast 2012 earnings of $2.69 a share. That’s reasonable in light of Tim Hortons’ strong growth prospects.

Tim Hortons is a buy.

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