Canadian Tire retools for growth

Article Excerpt

Canadian Tire is an example of what you might call a cyclical growth stock. It’s cyclical because its sales generally rise and fall with the economy. But it also has a growth element. Thanks to an aggressive store-renovation plan, its overall sales rose 70% in the past 10 years, even though it operates just 10% more stores. It has also spurred growth by expanding into new businesses, such as clothing, specialized auto parts and financial services. The company now aims to build on this success with a new strategy: It will fuel its long-term growth by focusing on its core products, particularly auto-related parts and services. Canadian Tire feels these moves will increase its annual sales by 3% to 5%, and its annual earnings by 8% to 10%. CANADIAN TIRE CORP. $56 (Toronto symbol CTC.A; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 81.6 million; Market cap: $4.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; Dividend yield: 1.5%; SI Rating: Above Average) sells automotive, household and…