We like the earnings & order backlog

Article Excerpt

CGI GROUP INC. $14 (Toronto symbol GIB.A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 292.7 million; Market cap: $4.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; No dividends paid; SI Rating: Extra Risk) is Canada’s largest provider of computer-outsourcing services. In CGI’s first quarter, which ended December 31, 2009, its earnings rose 13.0%, to $80.7 million from $71.4 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 17.4%, to $0.27 from $0.23, on fewer shares outstanding. These figures exclude unusual tax refunds. Revenue fell 8.7%, to $913.0 million from $1.0 billion. CGI gets 40% of its revenue from outside of Canada, so the higher Canadian dollar hurt the company’s overall revenue. However, CGI won $1.6 billion of new contracts in the latest quarter. Its order backlog of $11.4 billion is three times its annual revenue. CGI Group, our #1 stock for 2010, is a buy. buy…