Summary Prestige Brands is a small cap company engaged in the business of marketing, sales, manufacturing and distribution of well-recognized, brand name, over-the-counter (“OTC”) healthcare and household cleaning products. It crossed my radar in December 2011 when it acquired 17 over-the-counter medicine brands sold in North America from GlaxoSmithKline Plc for $660 million cash. I [...]
Summary Altra is a small cap company which does not fit my investor profile. Some readers, however, have requested I conduct the occasional review on small cap investment opportunities hence this analysis. Altra released its Q4 and FY2017 results on February 21, 2018 and within days it announced a proposal to amalgamate with 4 operating [...]
Summary WST has been in business for 95 years and has developed a strong reputation. The top 50 injectable biologics rely on WST and also supplies the top 75 pharmaceutical and biotech injectable companies. The company’s common stock cumulative total return has far exceeded the cumulative total return of the following Standard & Poor's (“S&P”) [...]
Summary This RPM stock analysis is based on Q3 2018 results released on April 5, 2018. RPM increased its dividend in October 2017 thus marking its 44th consecutive year of dividend increases. The dividend compound annual growth rate for the 2001 – 2018, however, is only ~5.7%. RPM’s returns since May 31, 2007 have outperformed [...]
Summary Paychex reported strong Q3 results on March 26th and earlier in March it announced an acquisition in Germany which will offer PAYX the opportunity to expand its market penetration in Europe. The balance sheet is pristine and it continues to generate strong free cash flow. PAYX’s stock valuation has retraced from recent highs to [...]
Summary NKE reported Q3 results March 22, 2018 which were better than expected when the one-time ~$2B impact from the Tax Cuts and Job Act is excluded. Despite the tax hit, NKE has indicated the TCJ is slightly favorable in terms of its normalized steady state effective tax rate and because it will provide NKE [...]
Summary Ecolab (ECL) has a track record of two decades of double digit EPS growth. It is a very low capital intensive company with highly consumable products/services thereby resulting in a predictable and highly recurring revenue stream. Bill Gates has held a position in ECL for some time and just recently acquired another ~1.3 million [...]
Summary DIS has offered to acquire certain 21st Century Fox, Inc. assets for $52B to help it expand into the direct-to-consumer streaming distribution business. The stock is attractively valued based on forward EPS and free cash flow. Despite the attractive valuation, I have several reasons why I will not initiate a position in DIS at [...]
Summary MKC is a dominant provider of spice and seasoning products to the commercial and industrial markets. It leveraged its balance sheet to acquire Reckitt Benckiser’s Food Division (‘RBFD’) for ~$4.21B in 2017 but management is committed to a significant reduction in debt levels by the end of fiscal 2020. Growth in revenue and margins [...]
Summary MCO is one of 10 statistical rating organizations recognized by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. It is the 2nd largest publicly traded member of this small group behind S&P Global Inc.. The company’s reputation took a hit when it completely failed to warn investors of the risks which led to the Financial Crisis. [...]
