A Growing Specialty Mix And Improving Acrylics Bode Well For Arkema

France's Arkema (OTCPK:ARKAY) (AKE.PA) is far from unusual in trying to shift away from commodity chemical businesses in favor of specialty businesses with higher margins and less competition, but the company has nevertheless done a good job of making that shift. I believe that at least 70% of the company's earnings can now legitimately be said to come from specialty businesses, and it has the opportunity to buy its way toward an even richer mix.

In addition to the better growth and margin potential of specialty businesses like adhesives and sealants, Arkema's commodity acrylics business could be looking at a cyclical improvement in the coming years. Looking at the cash flow potential of the business, the shares look as though they could be 5% to 10% undervalued, which I believe is enough in this market to merit a closer look. I would note that Arkema's U.S. ADRs aren't as liquid as an investor might like though, and so I'd suggest at least considering the Euronext-listed shares.

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A Growing Specialty Mix And Improving Acrylics Bode Well For Arkema

Seeking Alpha: FMC In The Right Businesses, But The Valuation Could Be Better

FMC (NYSE:FMC) has been making a lot of smart moves to better position the company for above-average long-term growth in multiple attractive specialty chemical markets. The Cheminova deal wasn't cheap, but added good diversification and offers expense-driven synergies, while the sale of the alkali business came at a better than expected price. Longer term, it's hard not to like crop protection, health/nutrition, and lithium.

I wasn't thrilled with FMC's valuation back in April of 2014, and the shares have fallen almost 30% since then, underperforming BASF (OTCQX:BASFY), Bayer (OTCPK:BAYRY), Dow (NYSE:DOW), and Monsanto (NYSE:MON) over that time. I'm still not enamored with the valuation today, but I do believe there is an opportunity for the company to outperform on both sales growth and margin leverage.

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FMC In The Right Businesses, But The Valuation Could Be Better

Seeking Alpha: American Vanguard Paying For The Recent Glory Days

It has been about 10 months since I last wrote about American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD), but things haven't really gotten any easier in the company's core crop protection market. Lower corn acreage, high channel inventories, and benign insect pressure have severely sapped the company's insecticide business and the company is having to deal with suboptimal operating leverage and the cash absorption of excess working capital as it works through this tough stretch.

I believe that if you adjust for the "corn bubble", American Vanguard has continued to operate as a respectable niche crop protection company with mid-single digit revenue growth and the potential to generate double-digit FCF margins. "Potential" is a tricky word, though, and often the difference between value traps and successful investments. Monsanto's (NYSE:MON) aggressive bid for Syngenta (NYSE:SYT) has brought some excitement back to crop protection, but actual results show a tough environment and M&A is unlikely to benefit American Vanguard unless a company not currently active in the U.S. wants to facilitate a market entry. I don't think American Vanguard is particularly expensive here, but the year ahead is still going to be a challenging one for AVD management and investors.

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American Vanguard Paying For The Recent Glory Days

Seeking Alpha: Monsanto Doesn't Need Syngenta

Rumors have once again heated up around the idea that Monsanto (NYSE:MON) is trying to acquire its rival Syngenta (NYSE:SYT). To a certain extent, this is nothing new. Syngenta has long been thought to be a future M&A candidate, with past rumors tying them to Monsanto, DuPont (NYSE:DD), and Dow (NYSE:DOW), but the company's less-than-impressive run of performance (including a poor first quarter in 2015) has apparently reignited those speculations.

As a Monsanto shareholder, I'm hoping the company does not execute this deal. While I like the idea of Monsanto gaining more exposure to vegetables and crops outside of the corn/soy complex, as well as access to Syngenta's technology and diversification into the ag chemical business, I think Monsanto would be hard-pressed to earn a good return on the price paid, particularly after factoring in divestments and the probable reinvestments that need to be made into Syngenta.

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Monsanto Doesn't Need Syngenta

Seeking Alpha: Bad Weather And Delayed Sales Have Pummeled S&W Seed Company

The market has pretty thoroughly scrubbed out the excess enthusiasm that took S&W Seed Company (SANW) up from less than $5 in August of 2012 to over $11 earlier this year. Not only is S&W some ways away from become the "Monsanto (MON)/DuPont (DD) of alfalfa", but I suspect the rise and fall in the shares can also be tied to the idea of S&W as a stevia play.

S&W certainly disappointed the Street with its fiscal first quarter results, but I think it's worth noting that most of went wrong was outside of the company's control. More to the point, I think there's still a very valid story here revolving around improved margins, better pricing, and the introduction of varieties that will capture more of the potential global alfalfa market. It's going to take longer for that story to unfold, but a revised fair value around $9 still makes this a name worth consideration from aggressive risk-tolerant investors.

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Bad Weather And Delayed Sales Have Pummeled S&W Seed Company

Investopedia: Should Huntsman Really Be Trading At Such A Discount?

Relative performance can be a tricky metric to use when assessing whether a particular company's stock is getting its due in the market; significant factors like debt, margins and management's competence all make a difference. Nevertheless, the valuation on Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) puzzles me a bit, especially in relation to other chemical companies such as Albemarle (NYSE:ALB), Ashland (NSYE:ASH), Dow (NYSE:DOW) and BASF (OTC:BASFY). Although Huntsman has not fully executed a transition to a specialty chemicals company and there is a lot of debt here, this could be an interesting name to watch.

Please click on this link for more:
http://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2012/Should-Huntsman-Really-Be-Trading-At-Such-A-Discount-HUN-DOW-BA-NKE1003.aspx

Recovery? Specialty Chemicals Lead The Way

Although consumers are not necessarily feeling much better yet, the recovery in the industrial side of the economy seems to be real. Over the last week or so, we have seen several large industrial concerns report strong earnings and cautiously optimistic guidance. Turning to one of the basic feed stocks of industry, specialty chemicals, we see a similar trend at work. Let's take a look at some of the top-performing
companies in this sector.

Albemarle
Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) is mostly a niche producer of specialty chemicals, but do not be fooled into thinking that "niche" is somehow a bad word. Albemarle is a leading producer of refinery catalysts, fire retardants and pharmaceutical inputs and those can be lucrative segments.

For the complete article, please go to:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/Specialty-Chemicals-Looking-Special-ALB-RPM-HXL-CYT-DD-DOW-BA0728.aspx.

All Clear In Energy Services?

Here is the latest article of mine on Investopedia. I should note that there was a bit of a holdup in the editing process, so this may read as slightly dated. The basic themes in the piece are still very much relevant and timely, though, so I hope you find it interesting.

http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/All-Clear-In-Energy-Services-SLB-DO-ESV-HAL-WFT0428.aspx

The last few quarters have not been the easiest for energy services sector, as troubles in Mexico, lower activity in the Gulf, weather difficulties, and project delays have all led to lower demand and lower prices. Still, it was not as though the sector closed up shop, as many U.S. natural gas shale play are economical below the $4 natural gas price level.

On a more positive note, it looks like the operating conditions may be about to turn. The earnings and commentary we have seen from the past week was supportive, and should give fundamentally-inclined investors a bit more evidence that the turn in the business is real. 

For the rest of the article: 
  http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/All-Clear-In-Energy-Services-SLB-DO-ESV-HAL-WFT0428.aspx

DuPont - Better Investing Through Chemistry (DD)

http://community.investopedia.com/news/IA/2008/DuPont---Better-Investing-Through-Chemistry-DD1027.aspx