Opinions
John O'Connell, CFA
Colgate Palmolive
CL-N
COMMENT
Jun 02, 2014
Stock price when the opinion was issued
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Probably one of the better staple companies. In July it had a big Venezuelan devaluation which resulted in a sharp drop in earnings. This was followed by the currency earnings drag. You are going to probably see some pullbacks and corrections in valuations, but longer-term this is a very good story if you have a multi-year view on the company.
He is avoiding staples right now. They are trading very, very rich. This company has had a negative earnings revision and are really struggling in some of their core categories with pricing pressures and volume. Not a lot of positive things to say about this. He would be moving on to a different sector, on the view that we will be seeing higher rates. This is not a “Growth” story, it is a “how do we save the ship” story.
Every day, millions of consumers around the world trust our products to care for themselves and the ones they love. colgate-palmolive is a global company serving people in over 200 countries and territories with consumer products that make their lives healthier and more enjoyable. colgate manufactures and markets oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition products under such internationally recognized brand names as colgate, palmolive, speed stick, lady speed stick, softsoap, irish spring, protex, sorriso, kolynos, elmex, tom’s of maine, sanex, ajax, axion, fabuloso, soupline and suavitel, as well as hill’s science diet, hill’s prescription diet and hill’s ideal balance. Social media mentions are up 267% in the past 24h.
Consumer stocks have done really, really well. This stock has been subject to takeover speculation. This type of company is viewed as likely consolidation partners in a very, very low inflationary environment. They are good, solid, well run companies with tremendous marketing teams behind them. The big theory was always that the next big growth was going to be in emerging markets. To some extent, we have seen that in this company. As these markets develop, we are starting to see new competitive entrants from the countries themselves. You are already in a low margin product where you are trying to push as much volume out the door as you possibly can. Well-run company, but not a lot of pricing power anymore.