Materials Select Sector SPDR® ETF

Like CF Industries’ (CF) sales, its margins are also expected to expand YoY (year-over-year) in Q2 2018 and the next four quarters.

March soybean futures contracts were trading near the support level of $8.70 per bushel on February 23. Prices fell for the second consecutive trading day.

Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) is expected to release its 2Q16 earnings on July 26. In this series, we’ll explore what Wall Street analysts expect from FCX’s 2Q16 earnings.

Agrium’s (AGU) Retail segment’s shipments declined by 0.03% to 4.84 million tons in 2Q16, down from 4.86 million tons in 2Q15.

According to CF Industries, nitrogen prices could remain under pressure as new capacities come online in 2017. However, the company believes that things should improve in 2018.

Since the beginning of 2016, analysts have revised their next-12-month price target for PotashCorp downward. The consensus price target now stands at $15.70.

While the Fertilizer Affordability Index was below one, it’s still higher compared to the average levels observed since January 2016.

Elliott Management noted that it plans to engage in a “constructive dialogue” with Alcoa’s (AA) board regarding Alcoa’s split transaction and “additional available opportunities to maximize shareholder value.”

Steel demand is a key driver of steel companies’ performances, and the construction sector accounts for almost 40% of US steel demand.

The profit margins vary across the aluminum value chain. Upstream aluminum producers’ earnings depend on their position on the cost curve.

There’s a handful of big players in the agricultural fertilizer industry. Setting up business requires huge capital, which makes for a high barrier to entry.

Although General Motors has been the top holding of Einhorn’s portfolio for a long time, he reduced some of his position in the stock in 3Q17.

“Industrials, materials, and financials are the sectors. . .you want to be invested in,” said Jeffrey Gundlach recently in a CNBC interview.

February WTI crude oil futures contracts fell 0.9% to $63.73 per barrel on January 16. Brent oil futures fell 1.6% to $69.15 per barrel on the same day.

In a press release today, Air Products and Chemicals (APD) announced that it had completed its acquisition of ACP Europe SA.

DAP (diammonium phosphate) prices have been rising lately.

Like DAP (diammonium phosphate) prices last week, MAP (monoammonium phosphate) prices were broadly flat to positive WoW (week-over-week) but stayed higher YoY (year-over-year).

Last week, the DAP prices in the NOLA region rose by 53 basis points to $344 per metric ton from $342 per metric ton.

Albemarle (ALB) is set to announce its 4Q17 results after the market closes on February 27, 2018.

In the week ending January 5, the prices for granular as well as prilled urea were broadly higher week-over-week.

At the end of 3Q17, Sherwin-Williams (SHW) debt was at an all-time high of $11.0 billion.

On December 19, 2017, PPG Industries (PPG) announced that it’s increasing the prices of sodium silicate and all precipitated silica by up to 6%.

Some anti-trust agencies have pushed back their merger approval deadlines over anti-competitive concerns the deal will likely create.

On September 14, 2016, Bayer signed an agreement with Monsanto (MON) to acquire it for $66 billion, or $128 per share. The offer represented a 44% premium over Monsanto’s stock price.

The Seed and Genomics segment’s gross margins expanded from 34.0% in 4Q16 to 41.4% in 4Q17.

The market environment for potash has seen a better recovery than nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers have seen.

Last week, granular urea prices moved higher, which helped bring some relief to urea producers. But the falling global ammonia prices remained a challenge.

Since phosphate rock is one of the major costs of production, companies such as Mosaic (MOS) have an integrated production process.

Increasing crop yield on available farmland could be the best solution to the problem of increasing crop production.

The United States is the largest steel importer globally. Steel companies such as U.S. Steel Corporation frequently blame steel imports for the US steel industry’s woes.

Forward price-to-earnings (or PE) is a relative valuation method that considers a company’s future earnings for calculation.

In 2Q16, PPG Industries’ Performance Coatings segment, the largest revenue contributor, accounted for approximately 57.5% of PPG’s total revenues.

Ammonia prices in the Southern Plains had the steepest fall of 10.5% last week, continuing the previous week’s trend.

The EU hasn’t been able to act decisively against higher Chinese steel imports. European steel production has fallen much steeper this year.

Investors in the fertilizer industry (XLB) must actively track the relationship between crop prices and fertilizer prices. This, in turn, impacts agricultural chemical companies.

Mosaic’s Potash segment generated $2.5 billion in net sales, excluding intersegment sales, in 2015. This accounted for 28% of the company’s total net sales.

Sherwin-Williams is buying coatings manufacturer Valspar in a $11.3 billion cash transaction. The companies stress that this is a complementary transaction.

The excess global steel capacity will take a lot of time to balance out. The capacity closures in China, if they happen at all, will be gradual.

There are valid reasons for aluminum producers to feel upbeat about aluminum demand growth.

The proprietary products and processes developed by specialty chemical firms command a premium and have enabled companies to post high returns on capital.

Paint companies benefit significantly when titanium dioxide prices enter recessionary cycles.

The specialty chemicals industry caters to diverse sectors through innovative products that are tailored to the specific requirements of end markets.

As of February 19, CF Industries pays a quarterly dividend of $0.3 per share. In 2015, it paid an annual dividend per share of $3.6—down from $5 in 2014.

Of 15 analysts covering Cliffs Natural Resources, eight have given it a “hold” recommendation, and seven have given it a “sell” recommendation.

Rio Tinto’s copper production was a slight miss, falling short ~1% of the fiscal 2015 guidance. This was mainly due to weaker throughput at Escondida.

Praxair’s total debt has increased significantly, rising from $6.6 billion in 2011 to $9.3 billion in 2014.

If the Fed continues to raise rates in 2016, we could see the impact on the housing and automotive sectors, which would only add to steel’s woes.

With corporate changes, the combined company is expected to generate total cost savings of $3 billion over the next two years after the merger.

After the merger, the merged entity is expected to have a better geographical presence than its individual global presence.

DuPont is a global company with operations in more than 90 countries. In 2014, the company’s North America region contributed 41% to its total revenue.