Canadian retailers earn our Highest rating

Article Excerpt

CANADIAN TIRE CORP. $150 (Toronto symbol CTC.A; Conservative Growth Payer Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 62.9 million; Market cap: $9.4 billion; Dividend yield: 2.8%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.canadiantire.ca) owns 503 Canadian Tire stores. They sell automotive parts and products, and household and sporting goods. Franchisees run most of the outlets. The company’s other operations include 297 gas stations, 105 PartSource (auto parts) outlets, 386 Mark’s stores (casual clothing) and 409 SportChek and Sports Experts (athletic shoes and clothing) stores. Canadian Tire last raised its quarterly dividend by 15.3% with the March 2019 payment, to $1.0375 from $0.90. The new annual rate of $4.15 yields 2.8%. In the quarter ended December 29, 2018, Canadian Tire’s sales rose 5.5%, to $4.13 billion from $3.92 billion a year earlier. That in part reflects its July 2018 purchase of Sportswear maker Helly Hansen for $985 million.  The company’s Canadian Tire stores had same-store sales growth during the quarter of 0.2%, as warmer-than-usual weather in December hurt demand for winter-related…