Best Chemical Stocks To Own Right Now

Specialty chemicals producer�Westlake Chemical� (NYSE: WLK  ) �has acquired�the PVC pipe, fittings, profiles, and foundation business of CertainTeed now that�all the closing conditions, including a regulatory review, have been met.

Earlier this year Westlake agreed to pay $175 million in cash, including $22 million of working capital and closing adjustments, to buy the pipe and foundation group business of�CertainTeed, a subsidiary of French building materials specialist�Compagnie de Saint-Gobain. The purchase was seen as�enhancing Westlake's North American pipe and building products division, which does business as North American Pipe Corp.,�by adding specialty product lines, and supporting technology that it didn't currently possess.

Wetlake Chemical President and CEO�Albert Chao said:

Best Chemical Stocks To Own Right Now: Linde AG (LIN)

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 Own 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.

Top 5 Value Stocks To Own For 2014: PFB Corporation (PFBOF)

PFB Corporation (PFB) is a Canada-based company. The Company, together with its subsidiaries, is engaged in the manufacturing of insulating building products made from expanded polystyrene (EPS) materials and marketing these products in North America. Its main brands include PlastiSpan EPS Product Solutions; Advantage ICFS, Insulspan SIPS, Riverbend Timber Framing and Precision Craft. Expandable polystyrene resin is manufactured at PFB�� polymer plant located in Crossfield, Alberta, for use in downstream EPS manufacturing operations. Plasti-Fab EPS Product Solutions supply the EPS foam core material used to manufacture Insulspan SIPS. Riverbend Timber Framing structures are typically sold with an accompanying Insulspan SIPS enclosure package. Advantage ICF Systems are insulating concrete forming systems that are employed to build insulated foundations and walls from concrete in both residential and commercial markets. On February 1, 2011, the Company acquired Precision Craft Group. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tom Konrad]

  PFB is a leading North American manufacturer of expanded polystyrene (EPS, aka "Styrofoam") building products such as insulated concrete forms and structural insulated panels.  The stock trades infrequently, and did not trade at all on December 28th, so I will be using the midpoint of the bid and ask for the purpose of measuring its return over the coming year.  At $5.53, PFB pays a 5.75% annual yield.
  
  The stock price has fallen significantly after the planned purchase of NOVA Chemicals' Performance Styrenics business as a move towards vertical integration with the acquisition of the EPS manufacturer.  This deal fell though, and many investors sold the stock, driving it down from the mid $7 range to the mid $5 range where it is today.   Already a good value, PFB stands to gain from continued recovery in the housing market or any increase in investor recognition.  However, since the stock is so illiquid, larger investors will probably want to substitute one of my upcoming alternative picks for PFB, while small investors should limit themselves to good-til-cancelled limit orders to avoid paying over the odds for their shares.

Best Chemical Stocks To Own Right Now: 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 Tom Bishop]

  Airgas Inc. (NYSE:ARG) was also the subject of a takeover bid, this one a little unwelcome. The company received a bid from Air Products (NYSE:APD) at $60 per share, a 38% premium from where the stock had been trading.
  
  Airgas rejected the offer claiming that the offer "very significantly undervalues Airgas and its future prospects and is not in the best interests of Airgas stockholders." Airgas finished up 39% in February 2010, and is currently trading at $65 per share as the market is anticipating a possible higher bid.

Best Chemical Stocks To Own Right Now: Linde AG (LING.DE)

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 Own Right Now: Zoltek Companies Inc (ZOLT)

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 its 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 limited! 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.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tom Konrad]

  Zoltek is a leading manufacturer of carbon fiber, which are used for a wide variety of applications requiring high strength to weight ratios.  Consumers may be familiar with carbon fiber tennis rackets and racing bicycles, but carbon fiber is also used to manufacture wind turbine blades (Zolek's largest source of revenue) and to replace heavier steel and aluminum in transportation applications such as Boeing's Dreamliner 787, performance cars and electric vehicles.  I think it's likely that automakers pursuit of fuel efficiency standards will lead to more carbon fiber being used in more mass market vehicles to reduce weight and lead to improved fuel economy without sacrificing safety.
  
  The company never recovered from its fall in 2008-9, but company insiders, including its CEO have been buying ZOLT shares since it fell to the $10 range last year, and the company's fundamentals have been improving even as the stock traded basically flat for the last 3 years.  Having lost money in 2010 and 2011, Zoltek made a profit of $0.66 per share on record sales in its Fiscal 2012, which ended on September 30th.  Analysts expect $0.52 per share earnings in 2013, for a forward P/E of 14.  The company has a strong balance sheet with no net debt and several unused lines of credit at favorable interest rates, and the company has several opportunities to achieve high growth as carbon fiber usage expands in its existing markets and breaks into new markets.
  
  One misgiving I've long had about Zoltek is the centralization of power in the hands of its Founder, Chairman, President, and CEO Zsolt Rumy. This concern is ameliorated by his recent stock purchases.  These, along with the historically low valuation, led me to add Zoltek to my annual clean energy stock list for the first time.