Croda Share Discussion Threads

[garethcoulson] 26/1/2009 15:44

Eh..what happened there ?

[garethcoulson] 26/1/2009 15:03

Would be great to get back above the £5 mark.

And then if so back to your exit point of £6.4 could be on the cards Jonny !

[jonnyfro] 22/1/2009 12:34

Agreed - but these very rarely follow symmetry..

[garethcoulson] 22/1/2009 12:26

ASAP would be good !

[jonnyfro] 22/1/2009 12:25

Gareth - inverse head and shoulders formation very valuable charting trend - suggest you read up about technical trading as it helps povide entry and exit points..

[garethcoulson] 21/1/2009 13:01

Some big buying today at these low prices.

Stocking up before the results out on 17th Feb perhaps ?

[garethcoulson] 16/1/2009 13:58

You were saying ?

[jonnyfro] 16/1/2009 10:28

Here comes the reversal as predicted...

[garethcoulson] 15/1/2009 12:30

At least.

£5K more for me yesterday so £6 will do nicely.

[jonnyfro] 15/1/2009 12:10

a bottom here of £4.50 ish then a rise up to £6

[garethcoulson] 15/1/2009 10:36

And from thay you predict what ?

[jonnyfro] 15/1/2009 10:26

Looks to me like an inverse head and shoulders formation

[garethcoulson] 14/1/2009 12:38

Bit of a copy and paste of the last one they did but updtaed and still a buy.

More for me today at £4.65

[kilgallp] 14/1/2009 12:33

GC,
Croda

497¼p –7¾p

Questor says BUY

Shares in specialist chemicals group Croda have added 28pc since Questor recommended the company as a good defensive play on December 8 – but there could be more gains to come.

Despite the recent rally, Questor remains cautious about global markets – and still favours a defensive core strategy with some exposure to deleveraging.

The earnings season kicked off after the US market closed on Monday, with aluminium giant Alcoa, but next week sees numbers from banking giants Citigroup and Bank of America, which are expected to be grim. There could be downside risk to markets on both sides of the Atlantic as company after company confesses to a dire performance in the last three months of 2008.

Some commentators and analysts are more confident: on Monday, Credit Suisse said in a note to clients that there was a 55pc chance that November last year saw the low in equity markets. However, it did concede that we would not see a normal bull market until the structural issues of deleveraging were more complete.

The broker also said that, if this was merely a bear market rally, it still saw another 10pc-20pc of upside. Credit Suisse pointed out that, in Japan in the 1990s, there were three bear market rallies, with each producing gains of 50pc-60pc. Questor suspects the bear is not quite dead yet – and believes that shares in Croda are still a defensive buy.

The group manufactures chemicals for the health care sector, the cosmetic industry and crop care products that are used in herbicides and insecticides. Its other products include lubricants for the oil and gas industry, solutions to help in textile processing and polymers for plastics and packaging, plus
many more.

Significantly, the company itself owns the intellectual property for a large number of its formulations. It also supplies ingredients for the high-end cosmetics sold by luxury brands such as Chanel and Estée Lauder. "We appeal to two things that will never go away – vanity and ageing," Croda chief executive Mike Humphrey said after its last results statement.

Around 90pc of group earnings come from its consumer care operations, mostly low-ticket defensive items. Its industrial products cover a wide range of sectors, which should provide some earnings protection – although total volumes are likely to fall.

The currency markets have also moved in the company's favour – so this should help boost full-year numbers, which are expected to be released on February 17.

The UK contributes less than 10pc to total sales, with around 50pc coming from Europe and 25pc from the Americas.

The group is also very cash generative, with free cash flow in the first half of 2008 jumping to £63.9m – 132pc ahead of the first half of 2007.

Questor also likes dividends – and Croda's payout looks pretty secure. With the company ticking all the right investment boxes, Croda shares are a buy, despite the rally in the stock since Questor first recommended a long position. The shares have come off their recent high of 558½p, so now looks like a good time to enter into a position.

[kilgallp] 14/1/2009 12:26

GC, I have a paper copy, I'll see if I can find it on-line.

PK

[garethcoulson] 14/1/2009 10:49

You got the Questor tip Kilgallp ?

[kilgallp] 14/1/2009 10:27

These were again tipped by Questor this week, and were a Shares mag tip for 2009. Just added some of these to my ISA.

[garethcoulson] 08/1/2009 18:07

£0.3M buy at close - not the kind of money you take a punt with

[garethcoulson] 30/12/2008 13:02

DIRTECTOR BUYING AT £5.02 - GREAT NEWS.

[garethcoulson] 29/12/2008 17:37

Thanks for that !

[garethcoulson] 29/12/2008 16:37

What a recovery !

Now all the way back to £7 in Q1 09 !

[garethcoulson] 23/12/2008 09:29

Should have sold the wife to buy these at £3.80 !!!

[plentymorefish] 22/12/2008 18:51

Good recovery taking place - long may it continue!