These recent spinoffs look promising

Article Excerpt

FRONTDOOR INC. $39 (Nasdaq symbol FTDR; Shares outstanding: 84.8 million; Market cap: $3.3 billion; No dividend paid; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.frontdoorhome.com) provides contracts to cover the repair costs of home appliances and major systems such as heating and cooling. Its policies also cover plumbing, electrical and structural systems. On October 1, 2018, SERVICEMASTER GLOBAL HOLDINGS INC. $45 (New York symbol SERV; Shares outstanding: 135.6 million; Market cap: $6.1 billion; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; No dividends paid; www.servicemaster.com) spun off Frontdoor as a separate company. Investors received one share of Frontdoor for every two shares of ServiceMaster they held. The remaining company consists of Terminix, which provides termite and pest control services to 2.7 million customers in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. ServiceMaster will also continue to sell other services to homeowners, including cleaning, cabinet and wood furniture repair, home inspections and disaster restoration. In 2017, Frontdoor had annual revenue of $1.2 billion, and operating earnings of $259 million. As an independent company, separate from ServiceMaster, it will focus…