Over the years, most conglomerates have lost their allure among investors, in part because they appear to be unwieldy and more difficult to analyze as investments than companies with simpler, less diversified operations. But 3M Corp. (MMM), a leading global diversified industrial, technology, and health-care company, is holding its own, mainly because its products have become necessities for consumers and businesses around the globe. Indeed, more than 60% of 3M's annual sales come from foreign markets.
"It is one of the most innovative companies in the U.S., spending approximately 6% of sales, or about $1 billion, on R&D, which gives them tremendous intellectual property assets," says Bruce Geller, CEO of investment management firm Dalton, Griener, Hartman, which owns shares. That's one reason, he adds, why 3M, formerly called Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing, has been more resilient than its peers during recessions or economic downturns.
Geller says it's a "premier conglomerate," with businesses ranging from industrial and transportation (30% of sales), to health care (28%) and technology (16%). The industrial sector makes products such as abrasives and adhesives used in the repair and maintenance of automotive and marine vehicles, and aircraft. Health care includes dental and personal-care products, and technology includes films for electronic displays and lens systems for television projection.
primed to take advantage"We look for this global consumer behemoth to take advantage of other companies' weaknesses" during the current recession, says analyst James Butler of independent investment research firm Value Line (VALU). Historically, whenever a recession has occurred, 3M turned crisis into opportunity, he says, by utilizing its "very solid finances (it currently has $3 billion in cash)" to buy quality companies at low valuations.
Like most companies, 3M has seen its shares decline in the market's current massive slump, tumbling to 59 a share from a 52-week high of 88.70 on Dec. 12, 2007. The price drop reflects expectations that the current recession will last through most of 2009, says Butler.
However, he sees 3M stock recovering and climbing to the 100-a-share level by 2011. This price appreciation potential, he says, combined with a "rock-solid" dividend payout yield of 3%, suggests decent total return potential, on a risk-adjusted basis, over the next three to five years.
"As a long-term play, this top quality stock is a very good choice," says Butler.
In these troubled times, 3M's management has been focusing on the company's resilience in the current recession, says David Begleiter, an analyst at Deutsche Bank (DB) (it has done banking for 3M and owns shares), who rates 3M a buy, with a price target of 70. 3M's innovation-driven growth engine, he says, enables the company to control its own destiny far better than its industrial and material-science peers. Coupled with benefits from lower raw material costs, higher selling prices, and a much improved supply chain, 3M should be able to outperform its peers over the next 6 to 12 months, according to Begleiter.
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