Toromont sharpens its focus

Article Excerpt

TOROMONT INDUSTRIES LTD. $108 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol TIH; Aggressive Growth Portfolio; Manufacturing sector; Shares outstanding: 82.4 million; Market cap: $8.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.0; Dividend yield: 1.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.toromont.com) distributes bulldozers, backhoe loaders and drills, mainly in eastern Canada and the U.S. It also makes refrigeration systems. Toromont recently sold its AgWest Ltd. business, which distributes agricultural equipment, including combines and tractors, in Manitoba, for an undisclosed sum. The sale lets it better focus on its main businesses in eastern Canada. The company’s earnings will probably rise 3% to $5.63 a share in 2023, and the stock trades at a reasonable 19.2 times that estimate. Toromont also just raised your quarterly dividend by 10.3%, The new annual rate of $1.72 yields 1.6%. Toromont Industries is a buy. buy…