Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Best Chemical Stocks To Buy Right Now

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of chemical maker Celanese (NYSE: CE  ) jumped as much as 16% today after the company released earnings.

So what: Revenue fell slightly in the first quarter, to $1.61 billion, but adjusted earnings per share jumped 44%, to $1.14. Revenue was in line with expectations, and earnings crushed the $0.79 that analysts expected.�

Now what: The earnings momentum looks strong on an adjusted basis, but GAAP earnings per share actually fell from $1.21 a year ago, to $0.89 during the first quarter, due to a higher tax provision. I'd like to see more top-line growth before diving in, but the company is generating strong EBITDA growth, which is a great sign. I'll sit out this move for now but, at 9.2 times forward earnings, the stock is a reasonable risk for more bullish investors.

Interested in more info on Celanese? Add it to your watchlist by clicking here.

Best Chemical Stocks To Buy Right Now: Agrium Inc.(AGU)

Agrium Inc., together with its subsidiaries, produces and markets agricultural nutrients, industrial products, and specialty products worldwide, as well as involves in the retail supply of agricultural products and services in North and South Americas. The company?s Retail segment markets crop nutrient products, including nitrogen, phosphate, potash, sulphur, and micronutrients; crop protection products, such as herbicides, fungicides, adjuvants, and insecticides; and seeds. This segment also offers agronomic services, as well as product application, soil and leaf tissue testing and analysis, and crop scouting services. This segment operates 1,192 outlets in the United States, Canada, Australia, Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. The company?s Wholesale segment produces, markets, and distributes nitrogen, phosphate, potash, sulphate, and other crop nutrient products for agricultural and industrial customers. This segment also owns and operates facilities that upgrade ammonia t o other nitrogen products, such as urea, nitric acid, and ammonium nitrate, as well as provides Rainbow plant food products. Agrium?s Advanced Technologies segment produces and markets controlled-release crop nutrients and micronutrients for the agriculture, specialty agriculture, professional turf, horticulture, and consumer lawn and garden markets. The company was formerly known as Cominco Fertilizers Ltd. and changed its name to Agrium Inc. in 1995. Agrium Inc. was founded in 1931 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jonas Elmerraji]

    Hard commodities aren't getting all of institutional investors' hate in 2013; agricultural commodity stocks are too. Enter Agrium (AGU), the Canadian agricultural retailer. Agrium is the largest ag retailer in the U.S., selling fertilizers, chemicals and seed directly to farmers through more than 1,250 locations. One of the most attractive attributes of Agrium is the fact that the firm isn't merely a seller -- it's also the third-largest producer of potash in North America, a factor that should bode well for Agrium's margins as fertilizer prices rise.

    Agrium is well-positioned to grab onto bullish trends in the agricultural commodities. Because its customers, the farmers, have that same exposure, they're less price-sensitive to changes in costs than they would otherwise be; fertilizer and seed prices tend to move in lock-step with the prices that farmers are able to charge for their crops.

    From a macro standpoint there's reason to be bullish on the agriculture business: Growing populations and declining farmland continue to be major themes worldwide, and demand for efficiency-improving products (like fertilizers) should continue to strengthen. At the same time, Agrium's push to other regions should help to spawn growth in the next few years.

    While a proxy battle at AGU has added some extra headline risks for the firm (big holders want to split the firm's retail and wholesale fertilizer businesses), it's my view that ultimately either outcome will likely add value for investors. The combined firm has more cost savings, while the split up firm will likely see value unlocked from a public offering.

    Institutions unloaded more than $25 million shares of AGU in the last quarter.

  • [By Lowell]

    Agrium Inc. (NYSE:AGU): Down 1.01% to $71.84. Agrium Inc. supplies nitrogen, potash and phosphate for agricultural, industrial, and specialty use. The Company operates throughout the America’s while it markets its products globally.

  • [By Seeking Alpha]

    Agrium (AGU) earnings are on pace to jump 60% in 2010, and analysts are expecting another 44% bump next year. Currently yielding: 0.1%

Best Chemical Stocks To Buy Right Now: E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company(DD)

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company operates as a science and technology company worldwide. It operates in seven segments: Agriculture & Nutrition, Electronics & Communications, Performance Chemicals, Performance Coatings, Performance Materials, Safety & Protection, and Pharmaceuticals. The Agriculture & Nutrition segment provides hybrid seed corn and soybean seed, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, value enhanced grains, and soy protein under the Pioneer brand name. The Electronics & Communications segment supplies materials and systems for photovoltaic products, consumer electronics, displays, and advanced printing. The Performance Chemicals segment offers fluorochemicals, fluoropolymers, specialty and industrial chemicals, and white pigments for various markets, such as plastics and coatings, textiles, mining, pulp and paper, water treatment, and healthcare. The Performance Coatings segment supplies high performance liquid and powder coatings for motor vehicle origi nal equipment manufacturers (OEM); the motor vehicle after-market; and general industrial applications, such as such as coatings for heavy equipment, pipes and appliances, and electrical insulation. The Performance Materials segment provides polymers, elastomers, films, parts, and systems and solutions for the automotive OEM and associated after-market industries, as well as electrical, electronics, packaging, construction, oil, photovoltaics, aerospace, chemical processing, and consumer durable goods. The Safety & Protection segment primarily offers nonwovens, aramids, and solid surfaces for the construction, transportation, communications, industrial chemicals, oil and gas, electric utilities, automotive, manufacturing, defense, homeland security, and safety consulting industries. The Pharmaceuticals segment represents its interest in the collaboration relating to Cozaar/Hyzaar antihypertensive drugs. The company was founded in 1802 and is headquartered in Wilmington, Dela ware.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Lowell]

    DuPont offers agriculture and food, building and construction, electronics and communications, general industrial and transportation products and services. Cramer holds 500 shares of DD stocks. DD has a dividend yield of 3.57% and returned -3.52% since the beginning of this year. It has a market cap of $42.94B and a P/E ratio of 12.77. Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson had $55 million in DD shares.

Top 5 Bank Stocks To Own Right Now: Linde AG (LNAGF.PK)

Linde AG is a German company engaged in the gases and engineering sector. It operates two divisions: Gases and Engineering, as core divisions, as well as Gist. The Gases Division includes Healthcare, producing medical gases; and Tonnage, as its two global business units; as well as the two business areas Merchant and Packaged Gases, offering liquefied and cylinder gases, and Electronics. The Company�� products are used in the energy sector, for steel production, chemical processing, environmental protection and welding, as well as in food processing, glass production and electronics. The Engineering division offers planning, project development and construction of turnkey industrial plants used in fields, such as petrochemical and chemical industries, in refineries and fertilizer plants, to recover air gases, to produce hydrogen and synthesis gases, to treat natural gas, and in the pharmaceutical industry. As of August 13, 2012, the Company acquired Lincare Holdings Inc.

Best Chemical Stocks To Buy Right Now: Zoltek Companies Inc (ZOLT.O)

Zoltek Companies, Inc. is a holding company, which operates through wholly owned subsidiaries, Zoltek Corporation, Zoltek Zrt., Zoltek de Mexico SA de CV, Zoltek de Occidente SA de CV, Engineering Technology Corporation (Entec Composite Machines), Zoltek Properties, Inc., and Zoltek Automotive, LLC. Zoltek Corporation (Zoltek) develops, manufactures and markets carbon fibers and technical fibers in the United States. The Company is an applied technology and advanced materials company. It commercialization of carbon fiber through composites used in a range of commercial products, which it sells under the Panex trade name. In addition to manufacturing carbon fiber, it produces an intermediate product, a stabilized and oxidized acrylic fiber used in flame- and heat-resistant applications, which it sells under the Pyron trade name. During fiscal year ended September 30, 2011 (fiscal 2011), its net sales to Vestas Wind Systems, a wind turbine manufacturer represented % of it s net sales. In October 2011, Zoltek purchased a building in St. Peters, Missouri to house its prepreg operations.

Zoltek Zrt. is a Hungarian subsidiary that manufactures and markets carbon fibers and technical fibers and manufactures acrylic fiber precursor raw material used in production of carbon fibers and technical fibers. Zoltek de Mexico SA de CV and Zoltek de Occidente SA de CV are Mexican subsidiaries that manufacture carbon fiber and precursor raw material. Entec Composite Machines manufactures and markets filament winding and pultrusion equipment used in the production composite parts. The Company�� sales markets are in Europe and the United States. The Company has manufacturing plants in Nyergesujfalu, Hungary, Guadalajara, Mexico, Abilene, Texas and St. Charles, Missouri. Its Texas plant houses carbon fiber manufacturing lines and value-added processing capabilities. Its Missouri plant is engaged in the production of technical fibers for aircraft brake and other friction applications and also produces lim! i! ted amounts of carbon fibers. In addition, it has facilities in Salt Lake City, Utah where it designs and builds composite manufacturing equipment and produce resin pre-impregnated carbon fibers, called prepregs. It performs certain downstream processing, such as weaving, knitting, blending with other fibers, chopping and milling and preparation of pre-form, pre-cut stacks of fabric. In addition, its Salt Lake City-based Entec Composite Machines subsidiary designs and builds composite manufacturing equipment and markets the equipment along with manufacturing technology and materials. It also provides composite design and engineering for development of applications for carbon fiber reinforced composites.

The Company competes with Hexcel Corporation, Cytec Industries, Toray Group, Toho Tenax, Mitsubishi Chemical and SGL Carbon.

Best Chemical Stocks To Buy Right Now: Bacanora Minerals Ltd (BCN)

Bacanora Minerals Ltd. (Bacanora) is an exploration-stage company. The Company is a mining company engaged in exploration for mineral deposits in Mexico. The Company�� mineral properties include Tubutama Borate, Magdalena Borate and Sonora Lithium. The Company�� exploration activities include Borate Properties and Lithium Property. Mineramex Limited is the Company�� wholly owned subsidiary, whose assets consist of 99.9% interest of Minera Sonora Borax, S.A. de C.V. (MSB) and 60% interest of Minerales Industriales Tubutama, S.A. de C.V. (MIT). Tubutama Borate project consists of six mining concessions with a total area of 1,661 hectares. The concessions are located 15 kilometers from the town of Tubutama, and they are 100% owned by MIT. The Magdalena Borate project consists of seven concessions, with a total area of 15,508 hectares. The concessions are located 15 kilometers from the city of Magdalena and the city of Santa Ana, and are 100% owned by MSB.

Best Chemical Stocks To Buy Right Now: Huntsman Corporation(HUN)

Huntsman Corporation engages in the manufacture and sale of differentiated organic and inorganic chemical products worldwide. The company offers polyurethane chemicals, including methyl diphenyl diisocyanate, propylene oxide, polyols, propylene glycol, thermoplastic polyurethane, aniline, and methyl tertiary-butyl ether products, which are used to produce rigid and flexible foams, as well as coatings, adhesives, sealants, and elastomers; and performance products, such as amines, carbonates, surfactants, linear alkyl benzene, maleic anhydride, performance chemicals, ethylene glycol, olefins, and technology licenses. It also provides advanced materials comprising epoxy resin compounds and formulations; cross-linking, matting agents, and curing agents; and epoxy, acrylic and polyurethane-based adhesives, and tooling resin formulations. In addition, Huntsman Corporation offers textile chemicals, dyes, and titanium dioxide. The company?s products are used in various applicatio ns, including adhesives, aerospace, automotive, construction products, durable and non-durable consumer products, electronics, medical, packaging, paints and coatings, power generation, refining, synthetic fiber, textile chemicals, and dye industries. Huntsman Corporation was founded in 1970 and is based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Michael]

    Huntsman Corporation (HUN) engages in the manufacture and sale of differentiated organic and inorganic chemical products on a global scale. It has also been given a buy-rating by UBS Investment Research. UBS estimates that for every 10% change in the margin of Propylene Oxide, earnings per share would change b y 5 cents for Huntsman Corporation. Shares of the company are currently trading at $11.2 per share and have traded between $8.13 and $21.52 over the last 52 weeks. Calanese Corporation (CE), a manufacturer and marketer of chemical products, is a competitor of Huntsman Corporation. Huntsman reported a dividend yield of 3.6%, while Calanese reported a dividend yield of 0.5%. Return-on-equity was reported at 10.5% for Huntsman and 51.6% for Calanese. Calanese also generated higher profit and operating margins than Huntsman. There were equal number of hedge funds in each stock, however hedge funds' bet more dollars on Calanese. One of our favorite hedge funds, Third Point, initiated a brand new position in CE during the third quarter. That's why we pick CE over HUN.

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