This stock plays a key role in food supply

Article Excerpt

COVID-19 continues to highlight the importance of ingredient producer Archer Daniels Midland to the global food supply chain. At the same, however, lower demand for gasoline has forced it to put off any potential spinoff of its ethanol business. Even so, we feel the company is in a strong position to expand its profits as more countries re-open their economies. ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND CO. $43 is a buy. The stock (New York symbol ADM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 555.5 million; Market cap: $23.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.adm.com) gives you exposure to the one of the world’s largest agribusiness firms. It processes corn, wheat, soybeans, flax seed, peanuts and other crops into a variety of ingredients such as flour, oils and sweeteners. New products cut Archer’s risk In the past few years, Archer has shifted away from processing crops into making more-profitable products. Under that plan, in late 2014, the company paid $3.1 billion…