NEW YORK, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Shares in chemicals company FMC Corp are undervalued compared to its peers, Barron's reported on Sunday.
FMC shares, which closed at $54.99 on Friday, have climbed 56 percent from this year's market low, while the broader S&P 500 diversified-chemicals group is up 171 percent over the same period, the newspaper said.
The company stands to benefit from the economic recovery like its peers but since only 40 percent of its sales are in industrial chemicals, which are seen as more economically sensitive, FMC is viewed as less leveraged to the recovery than other companies in the sector, Barron's said.
But FMC's agribusiness -- about 50 percent of its profits -- could be seen as an emerging markets play, Barron's said, citing Stephen Fisch, an analyst at Atlantic Investment Group.
Fisch values FMC shares at $70, according to Barron's.
The company earlier this month hired a new chief executive, Pierre Brondeau, who retired from Dow Chemical as CEO of Dow Advanced Materials in September.
FMC shares are up 23 percent since the start of the year.
(Reporting by Elinor Comlay; Editing by Leslie Adler) Keywords: FMC/SHARES
(elinor.comlay@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 6116)
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