Warm winter lifted dividend yield

Article Excerpt

CANADIAN TIRE CORP. (class A non-voting) is a buy. The retailer (Toronto symbols CTC $240 and CTC.A $136; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 60.8 million; Market cap: $8.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; Dividend yield: 5.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.canadiantire.ca) is down 4% since the start of 2024, mainly due to concerns that elevated inflation and interest rates are prompting consumers to spend less on discretionary items. Warmer-than-usual winter weather also hurt demand for seasonal products such as snow shovels. As a result of the lower stock price, the $7.00 a share dividend now yields a high 5.1% for the class A shares. The company aims to pay out 30% to 40% of the previous year’s earnings (before unusual items) as dividends. The current annual rate is equal to 67.5% of its 2023 earnings of $10.37 a share, which is well above its target range. However, a cost-cutting plan should lift its earnings to $11.61 a share in 2024, and to $14.68…