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Chemours (CC) Stock Up 16% in 3 Months: What's Driving It?

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The Chemours Company’s (CC - Free Report) shares have popped 16% over the past three months. The company has also outperformed its industry’s rise of 3.1% over the same time frame. It has also topped the S&P 500’s roughly 11.6% rise over the same period.

Let’s dive into the factors behind this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock’s price appreciation.

 

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

 

Higher Opteon Demand & Cost Actions Drive CC

Chemours is gaining from strong execution and its cost-reduction and pricing actions. Its Thermal & Specialized Solutions segment is benefiting from healthy demand in refrigerants. It is witnessing strong adoption of the Opteon platform, which is supporting volumes in this segment.

Volumes increased 10% in this unit in the first quarter of 2023 on the continued adoption of Opteon. Chemours remains committed toward driving Opteon adoption. Higher prices are also contributing to the segment’s sales. CC is also seeing higher prices in the Titanium Technologies division.

Chemours is also gaining from its efforts to reduce costs. Its cost-reduction program along with its productivity and operational improvement actions across its businesses are expected to support its margins in 2023. It is also taking appropriate pricing measures to counter cost inflation in raw materials.

Earlier this month, Chemours along with DuPont and Corteva reached an agreement in principle to settle all PFAS-related drinking water claims of public water systems that serve the vast majority of the U.S. population. The companies agreed to establish and contribute a combined $1.185 billion to a settlement fund with Chemours contributing 50% and DuPont and Corteva collectively contributing the balance 50%. The settlement removed an overhang from Chemours’ stock.

 

 

Stocks to Consider

Better-ranked stocks worth considering in the basic materials space include L.B. Foster Company (FSTR - Free Report) , Gold Fields Limited (GFI - Free Report) , and Linde plc (LIN - Free Report) .

L.B. Foster currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FSTR's current-year earnings has been stable over the past 60 days. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

L.B. Foster’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 140.5%, on average. FSTR has gained around 5% in a year.

Gold Fields currently carries a Zacks Rank #1. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GFI’s current-year earnings has been revised 4% upward in the past 60 days.

The consensus estimate for current-year earnings for GFI is currently pegged at $1.05, reflecting an expected year-over-year growth of 8.3%. Gold Fields’ shares have rallied roughly 53% in the past year.

Linde currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LIN’s current-year earnings has been revised 4.4% upward in the past 60 days.

Linde beat Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. It delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 6.9% on average. LIN’s shares have gained roughly 24% in the past year.

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