Chipmaker poised for more gains

Article Excerpt

Despite slowing sales of its chips to makers of industrial products and cars, the shares of Texas Instruments have jumped 27% in the past year. In the process, they hit a new all-time high of $215 in August 2024. The impressive rise is partly due to pressure from an activist investor who prompted the company to adjust its spending on new chip plants. The new policy will better match production to expected demand. Nonetheless, the new plants will boost Texas Instruments’ long-term profitability. Those gains will let it continue to reward investors with rising dividends and share buybacks. TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INC. $205 is a buy. The company (Nasdaq symbol TXN; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing sector; Shares outstanding: 913.0 million; Market cap: $187.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 11.7: Dividend yield: 2.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.ti.com) makes analog chips, which convert inputs like touch and sound into electronic signals that computers can understand. Analog chips accounted for 74% of the company’s 2023 revenue. Texas Instruments gets a further 19% of…