Stock price when the opinion was issued
Dominant in water sector. One of the few publicly listed pure plays, so valuation tends to be elevated. Treat, transport, and test water. Clients are utility companies and industrials. Water is a scarce resource. Likes the new acquisition, accretive to earnings in the long run, will expand presence in the space.
Treats, transports, and tests water (drinking and wastewater). Water is a scarce resource; 70% of the earth is water, but only about 2% is drinkable. Aging infrastructure in developed countries needs to be refurbished. Lots of industries require water. One of the few pure-play, publicly traded water companies, and so it trades at a premium.
International, with 50% of earnings coming from the US. Going through an operating margin improvement program, to refine focus on customers and products that are most lucrative. Yield is 1.24%.
The company focuses on water transportation, trust, and treatment. Utilities are having to refresh their water-related infrastructure and emerging markets are just building it. This has driven up the price of Xylem. They are also developing metering products, measurements to help utilities minimize water loss in their systems. She would not buy at the current price. She expects a pullback. The company has made presentations at conferences and its price will probably drop back to $72 or $75.