Auto-related stocks: 1 buy & 1 hold

Article Excerpt

A good way to profit from slowing sales of new cars is with companies that help drivers extend the lives of their older vehicles. Right now, we see Genuine Parts as a better choice over Snap-On. GENUINE PARTS CO. $100 (New York symbol GPC; Income Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 146.8 million; Market cap: $14.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 2.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.genpt.com) sells replacement auto parts through company-owned stores (under the NAPA banner) and independent outlets in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Genuine also distributes industrial parts, office products and electrical equipment. Essendant Inc. (Nasdaq symbol ESND) recently cancelled a deal to merge with Genuine’s S.P. Richards business. That new firm would have been a leading distributor of furniture, and janitorial and office products. As a result, Essendant paid Genuine a $12 million termination fee. If you factor out that payment and other unusual items, earnings in the third quarter of 2018 rose 8.0%, to $217.6 million…