Procter still has appeal after big jump

Article Excerpt

PROCTER & GAMBLE CO. $103 (New York symbol PG; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 2.5 billion; Market cap: $257.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.9; Dividend yield: 2.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.pg.com) made sales of $17.4 billion in its fiscal 2019 second quarter, ended December 31, 2018. That’s unchanged from a year earlier. On a comparable basis and excluding foreign exchange rates, sales rose 4%. Earnings increased 3.1%, to $3.27 billion from $3.17 billion. With fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share gained 5.0%, to $1.25 from $1.19. Procter should earn $4.45 a share for fiscal 2019. Its shares have risen 30% in the past year, trading at a high, but reasonable, 23.1 times that estimate. Procter & Gamble is a buy. buy. …