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DuPont (DD) Up 32% in 6 Months: What's Behind the Rally?

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Shares of DuPont de Nemours, Inc. (DD - Free Report) have shot up 32% over the past six months. The company has also outperformed its industry’s rise of 13.2% over the same time frame. It has also topped the S&P 500’s roughly 2% decline over the same period.

Let’s take a look into the factors that are driving this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock.

 

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

 

What’s Aiding DD?

DuPont is benefiting from strong underlying demand in its major end-markets, especially semiconductor, water and general industrial, which is driving its top line. Its volumes rose in the third quarter of 2022 on strong demand in semiconductor, water and industrial end-markets. DuPont envisions demand to remain strong in most end-markets, notably water, industrial and auto adhesives in the fourth quarter, offset by continued weakness in consumer electronics globally

DuPont also continues to implement strategic price increases in the wake of raw material and energy cost inflation. These actions are likely to support its results in the fourth quarter.

The company is also managing its portfolio with an aim for value creation. It is divesting non-core assets to focus more on high-growth, high-margin businesses. DuPont completed the divestment of the majority of its Mobility & Materials unit to Celanese on Nov 1, 2022 as part of its ongoing transformation. The company received $11 billion in gross cash from the transaction. The move is expected to boost its underlying performance, strengthen its balance sheet, maximize shareholders’ return and provide opportunities to grow business through targeted mergers and acquisitions.

DuPont also remains focused on driving growth though innovation and new product development. Its innovation-driven investment is focused on several high-growth areas. It remains committed to drive returns from its R&D investment. It is also benefiting from cost synergy savings and productivity improvement actions. Its structural cost actions are contributing to its bottom line.

 

 

Stocks to Consider

Other top-ranked stocks worth considering in the basic materials space include Olympic Steel, Inc. (ZEUS - Free Report) , Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM - Free Report) and Commercial Metals Company (CMC - Free Report) .

Olympic Steel currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ZEUS's current-year earnings has been revised 4.8% upward in the past 60 days. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Olympic Steel’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 25.4%, on average. ZEUS has rallied around 35% in a year.

Sociedad has a projected earnings growth rate of 553.7% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SQM’s current-year earnings has been revised 3.6% upward in the past 60 days.

Sociedad has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 37.4%. SQM has rallied roughly 57% in a year. The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #1.

Commercial Metals currently carries a Zacks Rank #1. The consensus estimate for CMC's current-year earnings has been revised 10.2% upward in the past 60 days.

Commercial Metals’ earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 19.7%, on average. CMC has gained around 41% in a year.

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