Is Women CEO the Secret to Generating High Returns on Equity?

Melisa R. H. Posted On June 6, 2019

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There are a number of women breaking the glass ceiling in the business world. Some have reached the coveted CEO level and oversee great companies with large market capitalizations. These female CEOs can be found in a wide variety of sectors.

These companies have been celebrated for having strong management and good foresight. According to an article on The Balance and a number of studies in recent years, there is evidence that women in executive positions and on corporate boards can have a positive impact on a company’s performance.

Here are the best-run companies listed on Stockchase run by CEOs that are women:

🛍 Consumer
Canada Stock
Linamar Corp (LNR-T)
Linda Hasenfratz is a Canadian businesswoman, the president, chairman, and CEO of Linamar since 2002. The second largest automobile parts manufacturer. It’s a very well managed company with products to go forward. They are also in the aerial lifts and agriculture space.

Linamar Corp (LNR-T) — Stockchase

Price is discounting a large recession. Trading at 5x 2019 expected earnings. Revenues and earnings are still expected to be positive this year. Also in aerial lifts and agriculture. More diversified than Magna. Yield is 1.06%. (Analysts’ price target is $61.50)

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US Stock
General Motors Corporation (GM-N)
Mary Teresa Barra is the Chairwoman and CEO of General Motors Company, and she has held the CEO position since 2014. It’s trading at a cheap multiple of 6.2x earnings. There is volatility in the auto sector as they go through electrification. It pays a good dividend but it is not expected to be raised in the near future.

General Motors Corporation (GM-N) — Stockchase

Last year, the 3.5% dividend stayed the same, which is not a good thing. He doesn't like that car manufacturers are asset heavy, and unable to generate consistently growing cash flows. Once they get rid of the 2008-2009 pensions, it is stable, but free cash flows have not risen since 2014. You are getting into…

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Hershy Foods Corp (HSY-N)
Michele Buck is an American businesswoman. In March 2017,she became the first female President and CEO. The largest chocolate manufacturer in the world. It is a global leader with over 80 brands. A defensive growth stock and it is a good pick against tariffs since most of their revenues are from North America.

Hershey Foods Corp (HSY-N) — Stockchase

Good company. Dividends. May have a lot of defensive money in it right now.

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Ulta Salon Cosmetics and Fragrance Inc. (ULTA-Q)
Mary Dillon is an American businesswoman, and has been the CEO since July 2013. A beauty store chain in the United States. It’s well managed and is continuing to open stores. Their same-store sales growth has been growing well at 7-8% yearly.

Ulta Salon Cosmetics and Fragrance Inc. (ULTA-Q) — Stockchase

Very good management. Likes the segment and its growth profile. It can have a little torque, so you might want to use trailing stops. When it comes off, it can come off pretty hard.

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Ross Stores Inc. (ROST-Q)
Barbara Rentler is a businesswoman, and the current CEO of Fortune 500 company. An off-price department store chain. They are the second largest after TJX Companies. In times of recession, these stocks tend to do well. THey are also building stores and buying back shares.

Ross Stores Inc. (ROST-Q) — Stockchase

Off channel retailer. Sell at deep discounts. Nicely positioned to benefit from consumers desire to wear brand name clothing at a discount.

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💻 Technology
US Stock
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD-Q)
Lisa Su is a Taiwanese American business executive and electrical engineer, and the CEO and president of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). A semiconductor maker that is Intel’s competitor. It has stayed above the 200 day average and the sector is recovering.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD-Q) — Stockchase

This is effectively a processing company. In terms of the biggest boss on the street, it would be Intel, and this would be considered the baby in the corner. All the semis are up this year. When you get a cyclical decline in the semi space, and we are long overdue on one of those,…

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Oracle (ORCL-N)
Safra A. Catz is an Israeli-born American business executive and co-CEO of Oracle Corporation. A computer technology company. They are developing their subscription services and cloud based business.

Oracle (ORCL-N) — Stockchase

It recently had a pretty good earnings beat. Technically, it has broken out of a cup. Right now, the water is going against tech, and this has had a phenomenal run and valuations are very high. He would suggest moving your money to another allocation. Dividend of about 1.5%.

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IBM (IBM-N)
Virginia Marie “Ginni” Rometty is an American business executive. She is the current chair, president, and CEO of IBM, and the first woman to head the company. A multinational tech company that specializes in computer hardware. They are implementing a stock buyback plan that will see the stock pay a 5% yield.

IBM (IBM-N) — Stockchase

There are better tech investments out there. Red Hat was a pricey acquisition, a sign that they need to restart long-term growth. Behind the game in the Cloud. Microsoft, Amazon, and Google, all have a better toehold.

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👨‍⚕️ Healthcare
US Stock
Mylan Inc (MYL-Q)
Heather Bresch is an American business executive. She has served as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Mylan since 2012. A global pharmaceutical company that manufactures generic drugs. They are the ones who manufacturer EpiPen and they went through some controversy. A generic version is now offered but their credibility is still brining pressure.

Mylan Inc (MYL-Q) — Stockchase

Recently acquired King Pharmaceuticals.

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🏛 Financials
US Stock
Ventas Inc (VTR-N)
Debra A. Cafaro is an American business executive, who is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Ventas, Inc. A real estate investment trust specializing in the US healthcare industry. They are one of the largest healthcare REITs and is very well run.

Ventas Inc (VTR-N) — Stockchase

American senior housing REIT. Nothing is broken with this company, but what they have done is announce a large transaction in Canada. If you are buying for the demographic story, you stick with it.

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Nasdaq Stock Market (NDAQ-Q)
Adena T. Friedman is an American businessperson. She currently serves as the president and CEO of Nasdaq. The financial services company that operates the NASDAQ stock exchange. They also operate eight European stock exchanges.

Nasdaq Stock Market (NDAQ-Q) — Stockchase

When the market moves this will do well.

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Progressive Corp Ohio (PGR-N)
Tricia Griffith is an American business executive who currently serves as the CEO and president of Progressive. A car insurance provider. The property and casualty insurance sector has very low costs of operation and is profitable. There is a long-term uptrend that is lifting share prices.

Progressive Corp Ohio (PGR-N) — Stockchase

Although it always looks expensive it is a great niche little auto company. Very well-managed and very focused. Still a lot of earnings momentum to come.

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Synchrony Financial (SYF-N)
Margaret Keane has been the chief executive officer and president of Synchrony Financial since February 2014. A consumer financial services company. They try to bring value to consumers and merchants. It offers private label credit cards and other deposit products.

Synchrony Financial (SYF-N) — Stockchase

Believes this is a business that does something that is differentiated. They provide value to the client that has the card and provide value to the retailer. Looking at the economics that is providing their service, it is attractive. They earn higher gross yields, which means they can sustain a higher write-off, which is going…

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Keycorp (KEY-N)
Beth Elaine Mooney is an American financial executive who is the first woman to be CEO of a top-20 U.S. bank. A regional bank based in Cleveland. It is one of the largest bank-based financial services company.

Keycorp (KEY-N) — Stockchase

An average financial institution/average bank. Has a good dividend yield. A solid bank.

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💡 Utilities
Canada Stock
Transalta Corp (TA-T)
Dawn Lorraine Farrell has been the Chief Executive Officer and President at TransAlta Corporation since 2012. An electricity power generator that has announced plans to buy back stocks. They are making a transition from coal to natural gas fired power plants.

Transalta Corp (TA-T) — Stockchase

This has struggled over the last couple of years as it got hurt by the environmental movement and the NDP government in Alberta wanting to shut down all coal producing energy assets. They are migrating from coal to natural gas and have 2 plants, Sundance 1 and Sundance 2 that are coal fired, which are…

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Atco Ltd (ACO.X-T)
Nancy C. Southern has been the Chief Executive Officer of ATCO Ltd. since January 2000. A holding company with subsidiaries mostly in gas or construction. The talks of lower interest rates has helped this company’s stock price.

Atco Ltd (ACO.X-T) — Stockchase

This is effectively a utility and benefited tremendously from the safety trade with bonds coming down from 4.5% to 1.5% 5 years ago. Stock recently dropped because of a rebalancing of portfolios. Expects we will only see higher interest rates for many years and this does not speak well for this company.

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US Stock
Duke Energy (DUK-N)
Lynn J. Good is chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of Duke Energy, a Fortune 500 company. An electric power holding company that is in energy infrastructure. The rising interest rate have hurt the utilities and energy sector but it is recovering and the overall outlook is good.

Duke Energy (DUK-N) — Stockchase

Got caught in the Enron fiasco and became very unpopular. Terrific assets. Good generation and distribution. Nice dividend. Well run. Won’t have huge growth. Prefers a Cdn. Utility.

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CMS Energy Corp (CMS-N)
Patricia K. Poppe is an American businesswoman and business executive, the president and CEO of CMS Energy since 2016. A utility operations company. One of the best run in the US. It is currently trading at a premium, but the quality justifies the price.

CMS Energy Corp (CMS-N) — Stockchase

Speculative.

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American Water Works Co. Inc. (AWK-N)
Susan N. Story is an American utility executive and the current Chief Executive Officer of American Water. They operate public water utility in the US and Canada. They have quite a high valuation with over 20 times earnings but it has performed well.

American Water Works Co. Inc. (AWK-N) — Stockchase

There is a lot of opportunity in this sector, but not where this company is operating. They see the growth drivers in water in the emerging markets so prefers companies in this area.

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🚚 Industrials
US Stock
Lockheed Martin (LMT-N)
Marillyn Adams Hewson is the chairman, president and chief executive officer of Lockheed Martin. A global aerospace and defense tech company. This tends to move higher with market volatility. They pay a good yield of 2.58%.

Lockheed Martin (LMT-N) — Stockchase

Trump is going to spend a lot on defensive. The guest has a company called Harris instead. But this space is a hold. Add on a pullback. It is a position you should have in your portfolio.

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General Dynamics Corp. (GD-N)
Phebe Novakovic is an American businesswoman and former intelligence officer. She serves as the Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer of General Dynamics. They make nuclear subs for the government and executive Gulfstream jets. 25% of their revenues are from aerospace and business jets. They just increased their dividend by 10% recently.

General Dynamics Corp. (GD-N) — Stockchase

A US defence stock that is likely to perform well in the next year? Defence stocks have started to perform well. Pres. Trump’s promise to rebuild the military and taking on ISIS is certainly good for the sector. She doesn’t really invest in the stocks that will harm people, but what she has read indicates…

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⚡ Energy
US Stock
Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY-N)
Vicki Hollub is an American businesswoman and mineral engineer. She has been the president and CEO of Occidental Petroleum since April 2016. A petroleum and natural gas exploration company. They are one of the largest US oil and gas company by equity market cap. They also own OxyChem which is a major chemical manufacturer.