Hot Chemical Companies For 2014

The Producer Price Index for finished goods increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.5% for May, according to a Labor Department report (link opens in PDF) released today.

After falling 0.7% in April, these newest numbers put index growth back in the black. Analysts had expected an increase, but their 0.2% estimate proved too conservative.

Source: bls.gov.�

A deeper dive into the data reveals the extent to which volatile energy and food prices affected May's report. Food prices shot up a seasonally adjusted 0.6%, while energy prices jumped 1.3% after dropping 2.5% in April. Excluding these goods, producer price increases clocked in at 0.1%, matching analysts' predictions for that measure.

Moving back along the supply chain, prices for intermediate goods fell 0.1%, or 0.4% excluding food and energy. Industrial chemicals proved the primary culprit of cheaper prices, down 2.3%.

Top Oil Service Stocks For 2015: Air Products and Chemicals Inc. (APD)

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. provides atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance materials, equipment, and services worldwide. The company?s Merchant Gases segment sells atmospheric gases, such as oxygen, nitrogen, and argon; process gases, including hydrogen and helium; and medical and specialty gases for the metal, glass, chemical processing, food processing, healthcare, steel, general manufacturing, and petroleum and natural gas industries. This segment also offers respiratory therapies, home medical equipment, and infusion services primarily in Europe. Its Tonnage Gases segment provides hydrogen, carbon monoxide, nitrogen, oxygen, and syngas to the energy production and refining, chemical, and metallurgical industries; and produces dinitrotoluene used in the manufacture of a precursor of polyurethane foam. The company?s Electronics and Performance Materials segment offers nitrogen trifluoride, silane, arsine, phosphine, white ammonia, silicon tetra fluoride, carbon tetrafluoride, hexafluoromethane, critical etch gases, and tungsten hexafluoride; and tonnage gases, specialty chemicals, and services and equipment for the manufacture of silicon and compound semiconductors, thin film transistor liquid crystal displays, and photovoltaic devices. This segment also provides performance materials for a range of products, including coatings, inks, adhesives, civil engineering, personal care, institutional and industrial cleaning, mining, oil refining, and polyurethanes. Its Equipment and Energy segment designs and manufactures cryogenic equipment for air separation, hydrocarbon recovery and purification, natural gas liquefaction, and helium distribution; and offers plant design, engineering, procurement, and construction management services for the chemical and petrochemical manufacturing, oil and gas recovery and processing, and steel and primary metals processing industries. The company was founded in 1940 and is based in All entown, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Maybe the world is running out of helium. Maybe it isn't. But global leader in helium production Air Products (NYSE: APD  ) isn't taking any chances.

Hot Chemical Companies For 2014: Rentech Nitrogen Partners LP (RNF)

Rentech Nitrogen Partners, L.P. is a provider of clean energy solutions and nitrogen fertilizer, to own, operate and grow its nitrogen fertilizer business. The Company primarily produces anhydrous ammonia, or ammonia, and urea ammonium nitrate solution (UAN), at the Company�� facility, using natural gas as its primary feedstock. In November 2012, the Company acquired Agrifos LLC.

The Company�� facility is located in the center of the Mid Corn Belt. The Mid Corn Belt includes the States of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and Ohio. The Company considers its market to be consisted of the States of Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Robert Rapier]

  2. Rentech Nitrogen Partners

  Rentech Nitrogen Partners (NYSE: RNF) is a variable distribution MLP that saw fertilizer margins decline in response to much higher natural gas prices than in 2012. As a result, by the third quarter the distribution was reduced to $0.27/unit, down from $0.50 in Q1 and $0.85 in Q2. The unit price for the year declined by 54 percent in 2013.
  

  3. EV Energy Partners

• [By Neha Chamaria]

  That being said, hedging remains inevitable. After all, it is better to be safe than sorry. And it's not just CF that believes so. Rentech Nitrogen (NYSE: RNF  ) , a smaller but pure-nitrogen player, has already locked in 43% of its full-year gas requirements at an average cost of $4 per MMBtu. Rentech paid $3.98 per MMBtu of gas this past quarter. As for CF, it has hedged 90% of requirements through July. So investors shouldn't panic if gas prices rise.

• [By Neha Chamaria]

  That should help Mosaic grow its gross margin in the future even as nitrogen-centric companies like CF Industries (NYSE: CF  ) and Rentech Nitrogen Partners (NYSE: RNF  ) battle rising input costs. While CF's stock has lost nearly 17% in the past six months because of the recent uptick in natural gas prices, Rentech's shares plummeted 37% over the period for the same reasons. Both companies are relying on forward booking of gas prices to reduce risk.

Hot Chemical Companies For 2014: ICL Israel Chemicals Ltd (ISCHY.PK)

ICL Israel Chemicals Ltd (ICL) is an Israel-based company, engaged in the fertilizer and specialty chemical sectors. The company operates in three segments: Fertilizers, Industrial Products, and Performance Products. The Fertilizers segment is engaged in the production of standard, granular, fine red and white potash from three sources, as well as in the production of phosphates, such as phosphate rock, phosphoric acid, fertilizers and animal feed addictives. The Industrial Products segment produces flame retardants, such as brominates and organ phosphorus; elemental bromine, and other chemicals. In addition the Performance Products segment produces specialty phosphates, such as technical, food grade and electronic grade phosphoric acid, phosphate salts, food additives and wildfire safety products, as well as alumina and other chemicals. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Damas]

  I never thought Uralkali would get back together with Belaruskali as I expressed in this article written a day after the break-up roiled the fertilizer world, causing 20% plunges in the stocks of major producers such as Potash Corp (POT), Mosaic Company (MOS) and Israel Chemicals Ltd (ISCHY.PK).

Hot Chemical Companies For 2014: Givaudan SA (GIVN)

Givaudan SA is a Switzerland-based holding company engaged in the fragrance and flavor industry. The Company has two business divisions: Fragrances and Flavors. The Fragrances business segment comprises the manufacture and sale of fragrances into three global business units: Fine Fragrances, comprising signature fragrances and line extensions, Consumer Products, comprising fabric and personal care, hair and skin care, household and air care, as well as oral care, and Fragrance Ingredients. The Flavors business division comprises the manufacture and sale of flavors into four business units: Beverages, comprising flavors for soft drinks, fruit juices and instant beverages; Dairy, comprising ice cream, yoghurt, desserts and yellow fats; Savory, covering soups and sauces, among others; and Confectionery. The Company is also engaged in research and development activities, which comprises the development of a palette of perfumery raw materials, both synthetic and natural. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Given Imaging (Nasdaq: GIVN  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Hot Chemical Companies For 2014: Airgas Inc.(ARG)

Airgas, Inc., through its subsidiaries, distributes industrial, medical, and specialty gases, as well as hardgoods in the United States. The company offers various gases, including nitrogen, oxygen, argon, helium, and hydrogen; welding and fuel gases, such as acetylene, propylene, and propane; and carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, ultra high purity grades, special application blends, and process chemicals. Its hardgoods products comprise welding consumables and equipment, safety products, and construction supplies, as well as maintenance, repair, and operating supplies. The company also engages in the rental of gas cylinders, cryogenic liquid containers, bulk storage tanks, tube trailers, and welding and welding related equipment. In addition, the company manufactures and distributes liquid carbon dioxide, dry ice, nitrous oxide, ammonia, refrigerant gases, and atmospheric merchant gases. It serves repair and maintenance, industrial manufacturing, energy and infrastructure co nstruction, medical, petrochemical, food and beverage, retail and wholesale, analytical, utilities, and transportation industries. The company operates an integrated network of approximately 1100 locations, including branches, retail stores, packaged gas fill plants, specialty gas labs, production facilities, and distribution centers. Additionally, it provides retail solutions to retail customers, such as florists, grocers, restaurants and bars, tire and automotive service centers, and others. The company markets its products through multiple sales channels, including branch-based sales representatives, retail stores, strategic customer account programs, telesales, catalogs, e-business, and independent distributors. Airgas, Inc. was founded in 1982 and is based in Radnor, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  The one problem: Air Products & Chemicals valuation. “[Air Products & Chemicals] has generally been at a discount to [Praxair] in the last five years due to its mix and more volatile performance, but closed the gap last year on activist involvement and potential restructuring,” Yang and Amadeo note.�Air Products & Chemicals trades at 21 times 2015 earnings, in line with Airgas’s (ARG) P/E ratio of 21.5 but well above Praxair’s 18.5 times.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Airgas (NYSE: ARG) is expected to report its Q2 earnings at $1.22 per share on revenue of $1.28 billion.

  The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $1.55 per share on revenue of $21.68 billion.

Hot Chemical Companies For 2014: 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 alicet236]

  Huntsman Corp (HUN): CEO Asia Pacific and Div Pres Anthony Hankins sold 157,483 Shares

  CEO Asia Pacific and Div Pres of Huntsman Corp (HUN) Anthony Hankins sold 157,483 shares on June 6 at an average price of $28. Huntsman Corporation a Delaware corporation was formed in 2004 to hold the Huntsman businesses. Huntsman Corp has a market cap of $6.82 billion; its shares were traded at around $28.09 with a P/E ratio of 33.50 and P/S ratio of 0.61. The dividend yield of Huntsman Corp stocks is 1.78%. Huntsman Corp had an annual average earnings growth of 25.00% over the past 5 years.

• [By Michael Flannelly]

  Due to a number of tailwinds that should benefit Huntsman Corporation (HUN) over the next two years, analysts at Jefferies upgraded the chemical products manufacturer on Monday.

  The analysts upgraded HUN from “Hold” to “Buy” and now see shares reaching $26, up from the previous target of $20. This new price target suggests a 35% upside to the stock’s Friday closing price of $19.27.

  “Tailwinds into 2014-2015 (butane, new PO/MTBE JV, productivity, better FCF profile, EU footprint), recent relative performance and relative valuation support outperformance into 1H14 even with a neutral resolution on TiO2,” Jefferies analyst Laurence Alexander noted regarding Huntsman Corp.’s future performance.

  Huntsman Corporation shares were up 48 cents, or 2.49%, during pre-market trading on Monday. The stock is up 21.19% year-to-date.

Hot Chemical Companies For 2014: Incitec Pivot Ltd (ICPVY)

Incitec Pivot Limited is engaged in the manufacture, trading and distribution of fertilizers, industrial explosives, and chemicals. It operates in two segments: fertilizers, which include Incitec Pivot Fertilisers(IPF), Southern Cross International (SCI), and Fertilisers Elimination (Elim) and explosives, which includes Dyno Nobel Americas (DNA), Dyno Nobel Asia Pacific (DNAP), and Explosives Eliminations (Elim). IPF manufactures products, such as urea, ammonia and single super phosphate. DNA manufactures and sells industrial explosives and related products and services to the mining, quarrying and construction industries and also manufactures agricultural chemicals. SCI manufactures ammonium phosphates and distributes manufactured fertilizer product to wholesaler. DNAP manufactures industrial explosives and related products and services to the mining industry in the Asia Pacific region. In December 2011, it acquired a 49% interest in Maine Drilling Group. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MARKETWATCH]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Australian stocks fell early Wednesday, tracking a weak lead from the U.S. but with a few blue-chip miners higher after gains for some commodities overnight. The S&P/ASX 200 (AU:XJO) retreated 0.4% to 5,237.80 after similar losses for the main Wall Street indexes, with the Australian benchmark trading around its lowest level since October. Among the major decliners, Qantas Airways Ltd. (AU:QAN) (QUBSF) lost 2.5%, Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. (AU:HVN) (HNORY) gave up 1.3%, and Incitec Pivot Ltd. (AU:IPL) (ICPVY) fell 1.8%. Santos Ltd. (AU:STO) (STOSF) fell 2.6% on indication it will miss its lowered production guidance for 2013, according to the Australian Financial Review. On the upside, top miners BHP Billiton Ltd. (AU:BHP) (BHP) and Rio Tinto Ltd. (AU:RIO) (RIO) rose 0.3% and 0.7%, respectively, while Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (AU:FMG) (FSUMF) traded 1% higher. Shares of global shopping-mall developer Westfield Group Australia (AU:WDC) (WEFIF) were on halt