Our latest advice on four small cap stocks

Small cap stocks are companies with market caps (or the value of all their outstanding shares) below $2 billion, or some other arbitrary figure. Many investors avoid small caps like the four we analyze below, because they’re generally more volatile than large cap stocks. These… Read More

TENNANT CO. $62 – New York symbol TNC

TENNANT CO. $62 (New York symbol TNC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 18.4 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 1.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.tennantco.com) makes industrial floor-cleaning equipment, including scrubbers, sweepers and polishers. It also manufactures cleaning… Read More

Updating MICROSOFT CORP. and TENNANT CO.

MICROSOFT CORP. $32 (www.microsoft.com) earned $0.65 a share in the three months ended March 31, 2013, up 8.3% from $0.60 a year earlier. Revenue rose 17.7%, to $20.5 billion from $17.4 billion. Slow personal computer sales have hurt revenue from its Windows operating system. However,… Read More

Four niche industrials for steady income

Most income-seeking investors focus on utilities or banks instead of stocks in the more cyclical industrial sector. However, these four industrial firms are leaders in their niche industries, which helps cut their risk. As well, they have long histories of maintaining or raising their dividends,… Read More

TENNANT CORP. $47 – New York symbol TNC

TENNANT CORP. $47 (New York symbol TNC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 18.5 million; Market cap: $869.5 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 1.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.tennantco.com) makes industrial floor-cleaning equipment, including scrubbers, sweepers and polishers. It also manufactures cleaning… Read More

High market share cuts their risk

These small industrial companies face a number of challenges, including rising costs and falling sales in Europe and other overseas markets.

However, all four are leaders in their niche industries. That should continue to spur their long-term growth. They also have long histories of raising their… Read More

TENNANT CORP. $43 – New York symbol TNC

TENNANT CORP. $43 (New York symbol TNC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 18.6 million; Market cap: $799.8 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 1.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.tennantco.com) makes industrial floor-cleaning equipment, including scrubbers, sweepers and polishers. It also manufactures cleaning… Read More