Small acquisitions spur Genuine

Article Excerpt

GENUINE PARTS CO. $93 (New York symbol GPC; Income Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 148.9 million; Market cap: $13.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.9; Dividend yield: 3.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.genpt.com) sells replacement auto parts through 1,100 outlets under the NAPA banner; and the company’s distribution business serves 4,900 independent stores in North America, Australia and New Zealand. Genuine also distributes industrial parts, office products and electrical equipment. Overall sales in the three months ended March 31, 2017, rose 5.0%, to $3.9 billion from $3.7 billion a year earlier. Earnings rose 1.4%, to $160.2 million from $158.0 million. Earnings per share improved 2.9%, to $1.08 from $1.05, on fewer shares outstanding. Those gains are partly due to acquisitions of mostly smaller firms that enhance Genuine’s current operations. For example, the company recently paid $35 million for 35% of Inenco Group. That privately held firm distributes a wide variety of industrial products, such as ball bearings, fasteners, tools and lubricants, to businesses…