Wind power buy for United

Article Excerpt

UNITED TECHNOLOGIES CORP. $74 (New York symbol UTX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 923.4 million; Market cap: $68.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 2.3%; WSSF Rating: Above Average) is buying the 51.1% of U.K.-based Clipper Windpower PLC that it doesn’t already own. Clipper makes turbines and other equipment for wind-power projects. Low natural-gas prices have cut the cost of producing electricity. As well, cash-strapped governments are cutting subsidies to wind producers. However, the Clipper acquisition will only cost United Technologies $112 million. To put this amount in context, the company earned $1.2 billion, or $1.30 a share, in the three months ended September 30, 2010. United Technologies is a buy. buy…