Better efficiency lifts earnings

Article Excerpt

STATE STREET CORP. $76 is a buy. The company (New York symbol STT; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 308.6 million; Market cap: $23.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.2; Dividend yield: 3.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.statestreet.com) sells accounting and administrative services to operators of mutual funds and pension plans. The company’s revenue in the three months ended September 30, 2023, fell 9.1%, to $2.69 billion from $2.96 billion a year earlier. That’s mainly due to a $294-million loss on the sale of an investment. Without that item, revenue improved 0.9%. Better productivity also helped lift earnings before unusual items by 6.0%, to $1.93 a share from $1.82. State Street will probably earn $7.44 a share for all of 2023, and the stock trades at 10.2 times that forecast. The $2.76 dividend yields 3.6%. State Street Corp. is a buy. buy…