Auto-related stocks: 1 buy and 1 hold

Article Excerpt

These two automotive-equipment suppliers have shot up in the past year, partly because strong car sales should spur demand for their products for years to come. Both stocks seem expensive in relation to their earnings right now, but we still see Genuine Parts as a buy, as it has a wider variety of businesses than Snap-On (see next article). GENUINE PARTS CO. $91 (New York symbol GPC; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 150.8 million; Market cap: $13.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.9; Dividend yield: 2.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.genpt.com) gets about half of its sales and earnings by selling replacement auto parts. The company operates 1,100 outlets under the NAPA banner, and its distribution business serves 4,900 independent stores in North America, Australia and New Zealand. Genuine also distributes industrial parts, office products and electrical equipment. It gets 80% of its revenue from the U.S. The company recently agreed to buy Covs Parts, an auto-parts…