Savings Experiment: Snow Removal
The Money Man Behind Rick Santorum: Who Is Foster S. Friess?"Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway revealed a new position in Nalco Holding (NYSE: NLC); it's my favorite pure play on water filtration," says Chris Mayer in Daily Wealth.
"With a $1.6 billion market cap, Nalco is a small-cap stock, but it's actually one of the world's largest water-treatment companies. Customers use Nalco's products and services to prevent corrosion, contamination, and the buildup of harmful deposits.
"Buffett picked up 8.7 million shares. That makes Berkshire the second-largest shareholder in the company, with a little more than 6% of the shares.It's easy to see what Buffett likes.
"Nalco generates a steady stream of free cash flow – $142 million in its fiscal year ended September 30. Today, the market cap is about $1.6 billion. So you're getting nearly a 10% free cash flow yield. Put another way, you're only paying about 10 times free cash flow. Not earnings, but cash flow.
"On the downside, Nalco has a leveraged balance sheet with $3.1 billion in net debt. However, its business model ensures steady cash inflows from service contracts, which is less of a risk than it might seem.
"Also, the first significant maturities don't come until November of 2010 – plenty of time for the credit markets to return to some friendlier state. In any event, the debt was not enough of a risk to put Buffett off the scent.
"There is also a nice backdrop to the Nalco thesis. Water is a scarce commodity. Two-thirds of the world's population face water shortages by 2025, according to the United Nations. And according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, about 36 states face water shortages by 2013.
"These issues may not seem so pressing to you, since every time you turn on the tap, the water flows. But it is an important issue for industrial users of water all over the world.
"Nalco is right in the heart of this issue. Nalco's customers are industrial users. Nalco's services improve water efficiency. The company also offers services to reduce air pollution, treat industrial wastewater, and more. In this, Nalco is the global leader, with a 17% global market share. It's bigger than GE in water.
"As a long-term investment, Nalco is among the more compelling ideas out there. In fact, the entire water spectrum looks attractive as a long-term investment theme. It's going to be an issue we're going to deal with for years, Warren Buffett's purchase of Nalco is further confirmation of the idea."
Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers a daily look at the latest market commentary and favorite stock picks and investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.
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