Specialty Chemicals

Below are the top general building materials stocks on the NYSE in terms of operating margin. The trailing-twelve-month operating margin at LSB Industries Inc (NYSE: LXU) is 13.04%. LXU's PEG ratio is 1.27. The trailing-twelve-month operating margin at Valspar Corporation (The) (NYSE: VAL) is 11....

Below are the top specialty chemicals stocks on the NYSE in terms of PEG ratio. OMNOVA Solutions Inc (NYSE: OMN) has a PEG ratio of 0.26. OMN's trailing-twelve-month ROE is 102.67%. Chemspec International Limited (NYSE: CPC) has a PEG ratio of 0.34. CPC's trailing-twelve-month operating margin is...

PolyOne (NYSE: POL) Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.04 per share on the common stock outstanding, to be paid on October 7, 2011, to stockholders of record on September 15, 2011.

Quaker Chemical Corporation (NYSE: KWR) announced today that it has acquired the remaining ownership interest in its Mexican affiliate, TecniQuimia Mexicana, S.A. de C.V.  Cash consideration of $10.5 million was paid for the 60% interest not previously owned by Quaker, with an additional $2.0...

Below are the top small-cap synthetics stocks on the NYSE and the NASDAQ in terms of profit margin. The trailing-twelve-month profit margin at NL Industries Inc (NYSE: NL) is 65.46%. NL's ROE for the same period is 37.10%. The trailing-twelve-month profit margin at PolyOne Corporation (NYSE: POL...

Stocks trading at or near 52-week highs and lows provide excellent trading opportunities, as volatility tends to increase at such levels. The following stocks hit new 52-week highs in Monday's trading session (listed from highest total volume to lowest): 1) BioSante Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: BPAX...

Oppenheimer removed its Arch Chemicals (NYSE: ARJ) Outperform rating and $42 price target in a research report published today. In the report, Oppenheimer states, "In a deal we view as fair to ARJ shareholders, the company agreed to be acquired for $47.20/share by Swiss chemical maker Lonza, a 12...

Arch Chemicals (NYSE: ARJ) is up 11% on the news that Lonza Group has agreed to acquire the company for $47.20 per share totaling $1.2B. The purchase price represent a 36.7% premium to Arch Chemicals' average closing price over the last 30 days. The shares are currently trading at $46.87, a gain...

ADA-ES, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADES) today provided an update on the progress of activities at Clean Coal Solutions, LLC, the Company's joint venture with an affiliate of NexGen Resources Corporation and an affiliate of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. Clean Coal's patented coal technology, CyClean, is a cost...

US stock futures are lower this morning, as debt fears moved to Italy. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 86 points to 12,529.00 and futures on the S&P 500 stock index fell 12.50 points to 1,329.30. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 24.00 points to 2,384.50. US stocks closed lower...

Lonza Group AG agreed to buy Arch Chemicals Inc (NYSE: ARJ) for $1.2 billion in cash. Lonza will pay $47.20 per share, representing a 36.7% premium to its average closing price over the last 30 days. The deal is likely to be completed by late 2011. Stefan Borgas, CEO of Lonza said, "This...

Some of the stocks that may grab investor focus today are: Wall Street expects Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA) to report its Q2 EPS at $0.34 on revenue of $6.32 billion. Alcoa shares dropped 0.67% to close at $16.38 on Friday. Lonza Group Ltd announced its plans to buy Arch Chemicals Inc (NYSE: ARJ) in an...

Jefferies & Co. has a Buy rating and a $56 price target on shares of W.R. Grace (NYSE: GRA). In a note to clients, Jefferies & Co. writes, "Tuesday, an article in the Associated Press referred to a "new danger in town scarred by asbestos" referring to Libby, MT. While the article may...

Gabelli is out with its report today on A. Schulman (NASDAQ: SHLM), maintaining Buy. In a note to clients, Gabelli writes, "While we are maintaining our 'buy' rating for long-term investors, we believe that today the stock could be under pressure; it closed yesterday at $25.92 up $0.41, or 1.6%....

Morgan Stanley has discontinued coverage on the following companies: Albemarle (NYSE: ALB) Eastman Chemical (NYSE: EMN) Celanese (NYSE: CE) Kraton Performance (NYSE: KRA) LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB) DuPont (NYSE: DD) Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) PPG Industries (NYSE: PPG) Praxair (NYSE: PX) Sherwin-...