Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, chemical giant Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW ) has earned a respected four-star ranking.
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Dow's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
Dow facts
| Headquarters (Founded) |
Midland, Mich. (1897) |
| Market Cap |
$33.3 billion |
| Industry |
Diversified chemicals |
| Trailing-12-Month Revenue |
$59.7 billion |
| Management |
Chairman/CEO Andrew Liveris
CFO William Weideman |
| Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years) |
5.6% |
| Cash/Debt |
$2.12 billion / $19.6 billion |
| Dividend Yield |
3.5% |
| Competitors |
DuPont (NYSE: DD )
Monsanto (NYSE: MON ) |
Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.
On CAPS, 94% of the 2,228 members who have rated Dow believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include All-Star lennysims, who is ranked in the top 5% of our community, and NHWeston.
This past fall , lennysims tapped Dow as a solid way to get paid while you wait: "[T]hey do it all, great [dividend]. I would hold til they finally breakout if they breakout, but the [dividend] makes it pretty ok to hold."
Currently, Dow even sports a P/E of 11.5. That represents a discount to other agricultural plays such as DuPont (12.3), Monsanto (23.5), and PotashCorp (NYSE: POT ) (12.3).
CAPS member NHWeston elaborates on the Dow bull case:
[A] sideswipe casualty of global recession. But it's hardly a broken company. Involved in almost every country in the world, they work in chemicals, equipment, agriculture, and irrigation. They have become especially interested in water purification and in desalination. If water is a wave of the future, Dow is gonna ride it high. Nice dividend, too, and buyback besides. Get some.
What do you think about Dow, or any other stock for that matter? If you want to retire rich, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Owning exceptional stocks is a surefire way to secure your financial future, and on Motley Fool CAPS, thousands of investors are working every day to find them. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!
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