Top Chemical Companies To Buy Right Now

According to a new report by Cedigaz, the France-based international natural gas association, cited in the Oil & Gas Journal, global marketed natural gas production and "apparent" consumption last year grew at a slower pace than the previous year.

The report, published in April, said that global natural gas consumption grew by just 2.2%, to 3,348.7 billion cubic meters, as a "turbulent economic climate, ongoing geopolitical tensions, and security issues in Arab countries" weighed on growth. That rate of growth was 0.6% lower than 2011's 2.8% growth and even lower than the 10-year average of 2.7% annual growth. �

The decline in gas consumption growth comes despite a massive surge in North American natural gas supplies, which kept prices depressed for much of the past few years, making the fuel more attractive to utility companies, chemical manufacturers, and other companies with energy-intensive operations.

Top Chemical Companies To Buy Right Now: LyondellBasell Industries NV(LYB)

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. manufacturers and sells chemicals and polymers, refines crude oil, produces gasoline blending components, and develops and licenses technologies for production of polymers. The company?s Olefins and Polyolefins segment offers olefins, including ethylene, propylene, and butadiene; aromatics, such as benzene and toluene; polyolefins, which comprise polypropylene (PP), high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, and linear low-density polyethylene; specialty polyolefins, including catalloy process resins, PP compounds, and polybutene-1 resins; and ethylene derivatives, which comprise ethanol. Its Intermediates and Derivatives segment provides propylene oxide (PO); PO co-products, including styrene monomers and TBA derivative isobutylene; PO derivatives, such as propylene glycol, propylene glycol ethers, and butanediol; acetyls, such as methanol, acetic acid, and vinyl acetate monomers; ethylene derivatives, which comprise ethylene oxide , ethylene glycol, and ethylene glycol ethers; and flavor and fragrance chemicals. The company?s Refining and Oxyfuels segment offers gasoline and components, ultra low sulfur diesel, jet fuel, and lube oils; diesel, feedstock, fuel oil, gasoline, and bitumen; and gasoline blending components, including methyl tertiary butyl ether, ethyl tertiary butyl ether, and alkylate. Its Technology segment develops and licenses polyolefin and other process technologies. This segment also develops, manufactures, and sells polyolefin catalysts, as well as provides technology services, which comprise safety reviews, training and start-up assistance, engineering services for process and product improvements, and manufacturing troubleshooting. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. has operations in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and internationally. The company was founded in 2005 and is based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. is a subsidiary of Prochemie GmbH.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Harding]

  LyondellBasell Industries NV (NYSE:LYB): On 3/31/11 Viking Global Investors reported holding 3,878,500 shares with a market value of $153,394,672. This comprised 1.32% of the total portfolio. On 6/30/11, Viking Global Investors held 11,800,693 shares with a market value of $454,562,700. This comprised 3.81% of the total portfolio. The net change in shares for this position over the two quarters is 7,922,193. About the company: LyondellBasell Industries NV is a manufacturing company.? The Company produces chemicals, fuels, and polymers used for packaging, clean fuels, durable textiles, medical applications, construction materials, and automotive parts.? LyondellBasell Industries operates globally and is headquartered in the Netherlands.

• [By ETF Authority]

  LyondellBasell (LYB) manufactures and sells chemicals and polymers, refines crude oil, produces gasoline blending components, and develops and licenses technologies for the production of polymers. It has been given a buy rating by UBS Investment Research. On December 10, 2010, LyondellBasell announced the deve lopment of a new Asian Propylene Oxide project with its joint venture partner. Dividends of $70-90 million per year are expected from this project. UBS' global operating rate forecast, in addition to an assumed start-up date of 2016, supports a margin estimate of $0.30/lb. Also, the plant is assumed to have a capacity of 250k million tons per annum. Shares of the company are currently trading around $39 per share. Cabot Corporation (CBT) operates as a specialty chemicals and performance materials company and is a competitor of LyondellBasell. Cabot has a dividend yield of 2.1%, while LyondellBasell has a dividend yield of 2.9%. LyondellBasell also generated a higher return-on-equity of 24.5%, versus the 13.5% generated by Cabot. Hedge funds prefer LYB over CBT. At the end of the third quarter, there were 44 hedge funds with bullish bets on LyondellBasell, vs. 14 for Cabot. Howards Marks' Oaktree Capital initiated a brand new po sition in LYB during the third quarter.

Top Chemical Companies To Buy Right Now: PPG Industries Inc.(PPG)

PPG Industries, Inc. manufactures and supplies protective and decorative coatings. The company offers coatings products for automotive and commercial transport/fleet repair and refurbishing, specialty coatings for signs, and light industrial coatings; and sealants, coatings, and technical cleaners/transparencies for commercial, military, regional jet, general aviation aircraft, and transparent armor for military land vehicles. It also provides coatings and finishes for the protection of metals and structures to metal fabricators, heavy duty maintenance contractors, and manufacturers of ships, bridges, rail cars, and shipping containers; and coatings to painting and maintenance contractors. In addition, PPG sells industrial and automotive coatings to manufacturing companies; adhesives and sealants for the automotive industry; metal pretreatments and related chemicals; and coatings and inks for aerosol, food, and beverage containers. Further, it supplies lenses, sunlenses, a nd optical lens materials; amorphous precipitated silicas for tire and battery separator markets; and Teslin substrate used in radio frequency identification tags and labels, e-passports, drivers? licenses, and identification cards applications. Additionally, PPG offers chlor-alkali and derivative products, such as chlorine, caustic soda, vinyl chloride monomer, chlorinated solvents, calcium hypochlorite, ethylene dichloride, hydrochloric acid, and phosgene derivatives to chemical processing, rubber and plastics, paper, minerals, metals, and water treatment industries. It also produces flat glass and continuous-strand fiber glass for commercial and residential construction, wind energy, energy infrastructure, transportation, and electronics industries. PPG sells its products through company-owned stores, home centers, paint dealers, and independent distributors, as well as directly to customers worldwide. The company was founded in 1883 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pe nnsylvania.

Top 10 Construction Material Companies To Invest In 2014: Bacanora Minerals Ltd (BCN)

Bacanora Minerals Ltd. (Bacanora) is an exploration-stage company. The Company is a mining company engaged in exploration for mineral deposits in Mexico. The Company�� mineral properties include Tubutama Borate, Magdalena Borate and Sonora Lithium. The Company�� exploration activities include Borate Properties and Lithium Property. Mineramex Limited is the Company�� wholly owned subsidiary, whose assets consist of 99.9% interest of Minera Sonora Borax, S.A. de C.V. (MSB) and 60% interest of Minerales Industriales Tubutama, S.A. de C.V. (MIT). Tubutama Borate project consists of six mining concessions with a total area of 1,661 hectares. The concessions are located 15 kilometers from the town of Tubutama, and they are 100% owned by MIT. The Magdalena Borate project consists of seven concessions, with a total area of 15,508 hectares. The concessions are located 15 kilometers from the city of Magdalena and the city of Santa Ana, and are 100% owned by MSB.

Top Chemical Companies To Buy Right Now: Ashland Inc. (ASH)

Ashland Inc. operates as a specialty chemicals company in the United States and internationally. Its Ashland Aqualon Functional Ingredients segment produces cellulose ethers; and specialty additives and functional ingredients. Its products offer functionality, such as thickening and rheology control; water retention; adhesive strength; binding power; film formation; protective colloid, suspending, and emulsifying action; foam control; and pH stability. The company?s Ashland Hercules Water Technologies segment manufactures papermaking chemicals and supplies specialty chemicals. It offers sizing agents, wet/dry strength additives, and crepe and release additives for tissue manufacturing; and deposit control agents, defoamers, biocides, and other process additives. This segment also provides specialized chemicals and consulting services for the utility water treatment; and performance-based feed and control systems; and monitoring devices and remote system surveillance. Its A shland Performance Materials segment manufactures and supplies specialty chemicals and customized services to the building and construction, transportation, metal casting, packaging and converting, and marine markets. It also offers unsaturated polyester and vinyl ester resins, and gelcoats; adhesives and specialty resins; and metal casting consumables and design services. The company?s Ashland Consumer Markets segment produces and markets packaged automotive lubricants, chemicals, appearance products, antifreeze, and filters to the private passenger car, light truck, and heavy duty markets. It also operates a quick-lube franchise under the name of Valvoline Instant Oil Change. The company was founded in 1918 and is headquartered in Covington, Kentucky.