The year 2012 is nearing its end, and now's a good opportunity to look at what happened throughout the year to the stocks you follow. If you know the important things that a company achieved, as well as any challenges it failed to overcome, then you can make a better decision about whether it really deserves a spot in your portfolio.
Today, I'll look at Emerson Electric (EMR +2.15%). The company is best-known for its 56-year streak of annual dividend increases, but the electrical equipment maker has seen its business suffer from sluggishness in Europe and elsewhere in a slow global economy. Below, you'll find more on what moved shares of Emerson Electric this year.
Stats on Emerson Electric
|
Year-to-date stock return |
18% |
|
Market cap |
$38.6 billion |
|
Revenue, past 12 months |
$24.4 billion |
|
Net income, past 12 months |
$1.97 billion |
|
1-year revenue growth |
0.8% |
|
1-year net income growth |
(20.6%) |
|
Dividend yield |
3.1% |
|
CAPS rating |
***** |
Source: S&P Capital IQ.
What helped Emerson Electric's stock advance in 2012?
Emerson didn't have the best 2011, falling about 15% in the wake of poor economic conditions around the world. The company's earnings miss in February shows some of the challenges that Emerson has had to face, as flooding in Thailand led to disappointing results. Yet that hasn't stopped the company from taking steps to bolster its long-term prospects through strategic acquisitions.
Emerson also hasn't been willing to rest on its laurels and coast on previous successes. Early this year, it said it would buy the marine container and boiler business of Johnson Controls (JCI +0.52%) to try to bolster its footprint to include meeting the heating and refrigeration needs of the shipping industry. Still, with Eaton (ETN +1.76%) having made a huge acquisition of electrical equipment maker Cooper Industries to boost its energy and power market exposure and with General Electric (GE 0.27%) having made big inroads toward elevating its energy infrastructure unit, Emerson and ABB (ABB +0.29%) both face huge competitors in their efforts to take advantage of the huge drive toward improving power grids and energy infrastructure.
Despite these challenges, Emerson delivered on a 56th consecutive annual dividend increase this November, boosting its payout by 3%. If the economy starts to get stronger around the world, its investors can expect 2013 to continue 2012's winning ways for its stock.
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