The Dow Chemical Company (DOW) & E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co (DD)’s Growth Is Attractive

DuPont

E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co (NYSE:DD)’s Q1 results were similarly as impressive as shares rose 4%. The highlights of the quarter include the following: sales of $10.4 billion were up 2%, reflecting volume growth; record Agriculture operating earnings of $1.5 billion were up 13% with sales increasing 14%. The company also completed the sale of the Performance Coatings segment and executed a $1 billion share buyback and reduced its net debt. Similarly to Dow Chemical, the company has a cost focus with its cost productivity gains and restructuring savings on track to meet or exceed full year targets. Lastly, the company reaffirmed full year guidance.

There is a hidden catalyst with E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co (NYSE:DD) as one analyst called for the company to sell its TiO2 unit and some direction may be given at the end of this week. E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co (NYSE:DD) “should and likely will look to divest” its titanium dioxide, or TiO2 business Deutsche Bank analyst David Begleiter told clients. The broker said the sale would be a “game changer” for E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co (NYSE:DD)’s stock price, which could rise by up to $8 a share after a successful sale process for the TiO2 unit. Mr. Begleiter thinks the company could highlight that the division isn’t as core as it once was and points out that DuPont has a track record of selling businesses which don’t have differentiated brands in the eyes of consumers.

The article Dow Chemical’s and DuPont’s Growth Are Attractive for Prospective Buyers originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Divyesh Dhanani.

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