Engelhard Corporation

When deciding to purchase stocks, many investors rely on companies with which they are familiar either from personal experience or from media exposure. Yet there are thousands of publicly traded companies in the United States and many more available throughout the world. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is based on only 30 companies, most of which--such as Disney--are well known to even casual investors. There are, however, other investing opportunities for investors willing to look beyond the well-publicized stocks; investing in these companies may mean that investors must learn about entirely new industries and business operations. This research considers a lesser known company, Engelhard Corporation, which is traded on the New York Stock Exchange and which participates in the specialty chemicals industry.

Engelhard Corporation is one of the nation's leading manufacturers of specialty chemicals serving the petroleum, automotive, refining, chemical, paper and related industries. Its products include fluid catalytic cracking catalysts, reforming catalysts and environmental protection catalysts. In addition, the company processes and mines clays into pigments and additives and is active in precious metals refining and management. Its operations are therefore sensitive to changes in the price of precious metals, but the company has demonstrated a strong performance record over the last several years and has remained a strong

Related Essays

Analysis of Engelhard Corporation When deciding to purchase stocks Engelhard Corporation is one of the nation's leading manufacturers of specialty chemicals serving the petroleum, automotive, refining, chemical, paper and .... (1385 6 )

Engelhard Corporation When deciding to purchase stocks, ma .... This research considers a lesser known company, Engelhard Corporation, which is traded on the New York Stock Exchange and which participates in the specialty .... (2378 10 )

Foreign Investment in South Africa .... the production of gold and many other minerals through their Anglo-American Corporation. .... of American firms, some in mining such as Engelhard Minerals, Newmont .... (4384 18 )

SOUTH AFRICA: EFFECTS OF FOREIGN INVESTMENT .... the production of gold and many other minerals through their Anglo-American Corporation. .... of American firms, some in mining such as Engelhard Minerals, Newmont .... (4336 17 )

able to post earnings growth which strongly outpace revenue growth (Mitkowski 502). The company has also performed well relative to the industry as a whole. Its three-year revenue growth rate of 14.03 percent well outpaces the industry average of 8.83 percent, and its earnings per share growth rate of 223.97 percent is significantly higher than the industry average of only 57.55 percent. Its reinvestment rate of 11.91 percent is entirely in keeping with the industry's reinvestment rate of 13.67 percent and represents one of the costs of doing business in this industry. The company has a low dividend rate from an absolute standpoint of only 1.67 percent, but this is in keeping with the industry average of 1.98 percent and in keeping with the strategy of reinvesting earnings rather than paying them out to investors in the form of dividends (Moody's Investors Service 2). Those looking for an income stock should consider a different issue. The one area where the company has some financial concerns is in its debt position, although the company still is in better shape than the overall industry. The concern here is not with current obligations (the company has a current ratio of 1.11:1) but instead with long-term debt. The compa

Category: Business - E