Downturn attracts activists

Article Excerpt

Activist investors continue to take advantage of the stock market downturn to buy stakes in what they see as undervalued firms. Here’s our take on three new activist targets. COLGATE-PALMOLIVE CO. $76 is a buy. The company (New York symbol CL; Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 835.2 million; Market cap: $63.5 billion; Dividend yield 2.5%; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.colgatepalmolive.com) makes a wide variety of health, beauty and household products, including Ajax, Fab, Murphy and Palmolive cleansers; Colgate toothpaste; Irish Spring, Palmolive, Sanex, Softsoap soaps; Mennen shave cream; and Hill’s pet food brands Science Diet and Prescription Diet. Activist investor Dan Loeb’s Third Point LLC has now taken a nearly $1 billion stake in Colgate-Palmolive. He wants the company to spin off its Pet Nutrition business. Loeb believes that this unit could be worth as much as $20 billion, which is equal to 31% of Colgate’s current market cap. Sales in Colgate’s pet nutrition business have outpaced overall company revenue growth over the last few years as consumers pay…