Corteva expands into natural crop protection

Article Excerpt

Corteva’s outlook remains positive, along with its industry fundamentals. Those bright prospects are supported by rising long-term demand for agricultural products. In addition, farmers will continue to seek improved crop quality and higher yields, which ought to increase demand for Corteva’s seed and crop protection markets. It’s a Power Buy. CORTEVA INC., $61.70, is a buy. The company (www.corteva.com; New York symbol CTVA; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (Shares o/s: 714.5 million; Market cap: $44.8 billion; Dividend yield: 1.0%) has now agreed to buy biologicals firm Stoller Group for $1.2 billion to accelerate its expansion into the growing market for nature-based crop protection products. Stoller is a privately held, Houston-based company with operations and sales in more than 60 countries and $400 million in annual revenue. The purchase will add immediately to Corteva’s earnings. The Stoller acquisition comes as the agricultural industry is seeking alternatives to chemical pesticides and fertilizers, with farmers increasingly under pressure to adopt environmentally friendly practices. Biologicals use material that already exist in nature to replace…