Three more top-quality retail buys

Article Excerpt

In addition to Loblaw (see first article), we think these three retail stocks have great long-term prospects. They all lead their markets and have strong brands and reputations that will help them grow. However, only aggressive investors should consider Metro and RioCan. CANADIAN TIRE CORP. $122 (Toronto symbol CTC.A; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 75.0 million; Market cap: $9.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 1.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.canadiantire.ca) has 495 Canadian Tire stores, which sell automotive, household and sporting goods. Franchisees run most of these outlets. Other operations include 297 gas stations and 91 PartSource auto parts stores. Canadian Tire also owns Mark’s, which sells casual and work clothing through 379 stores, and the Forzani Group, which offers sporting goods and athletic clothing at 428 outlets, mainly under the Sport Chek and Sports Experts banners. In the quarter ended October 3, 2015, Canadian Tire earned $199.7 million, up 15.9% from $172.2 million a year earlier. Earnings…