Several days ago I asked my buddy MJ over at Dyslexic Research what he thought of Ingersoll-Rand (IR: chart, web, Y!).  I’m not really an industrials guy, as my area of knowledge rests more in energy (specifically oil and gas) and tech.  That said, I’ve been making efforts to broaden my knowledge and diversify my portfolio.

MJ, however, is very much in tune with industrial sector, and I figured he’d have a good opinion on the company.

So it was with great interest that I read his opinion post on the company.

As MJ mentions, Ingersoll-Rand is in early stages of acquiring Trane …

I’ve been watching Schering-Plough (SGP: chart, web, Y!) since I started looking for my next buy-it and forget-it stock. The stock price has fallen considerably since then on news that a company study produced disappointing results on the effects of Vytorin, a next generation cholesterol drug.

They study showed that Vytorin had no benefit on the buildup of artery plaque over the older drug Zocor. The silver lining to this story that is easily glanced over is that Vytorin cut bad cholesterol 40% more than Zocor or Zetia (Vytorin is …

Recently our good buddy Winston mentioned a few stock ideas in a discussion about Walgreens. He mentioned that Archer Daniels-Midland (ADM: chart, web, Y!) was his buy-it and forget-stock. So I thought I’d dig into the numbers a bit to see if I agree.

Archer Daniels procures, transports, stores, processes, and merchandises agricultural commodities and products primarily in the United States. They operate in three segments, namely oilseeds and corn processing, and agricultural services. Effectively they refine seeds and beens into vegetable oils for the food (i.e. salad dressing) and feed industries.

The AG-services side of the company engages in buying, storing, cleaning, and transporting agricultural commodities, such as oilseeds, corn, wheat, milo, etc, and reselling these commodities to the agricultural processing industry.

An interesting, yet lightly publicized aspect of Archer Daniels is their interest in processing corn. For those of you who regularly read The Corner Office Blog, you know that I view the ethanol boom as nothing more than a farce. However, if you can make money in the face of a farce, by all means, run with the bulls!

Financial Summary

For the most recent quarter, Archer Daniels first quarter (FY08) net sales increased to $12.83 billion, up 35.8% from $9.45 billion for the same quarter in FY07, stimulated by commodity prices, and strong product demand in processing and AG-services segments. Oilseeds Processing sales increased 42.4% to $4.61 billion, boosted by higher prices and volumes due to strong demand for vegetable oil and soybean meal, and the higher average selling prices of fertilizers and oilseeds exported from South America. Corn Processing sales increased 12.6% to $1.52 billion, due to higher average selling prices in sweeteners and starches despite lower sales volumes and lower average selling prices for ethanol, whose current capacity exceeds customer demands.

Back in October, I started looking for the next buy-it and forget-it stock. My initial thoughts were Southern Copper (PCU: chart, web, Y!) and Schering-Plough (SGP: chart, web, Y!). However, through comments on that post, Mike chimed in and mentioned Walgreen Co. (WAG: chart, web, Y!).

At the time Mike mentioned the stock, it was around $39 per share, and has since dropped a bit more and is starting to show signs of increasing value. I must disclose that Mike says he is a pharmacist and individual investor, and worked for almost all of the chain pharmacies (like Walgreens).

Financial Summary

The stock has a 3-month average volume of 9.2 million shares traded per day with a current market cap of $36.8 billion. The company is paying a $0.095 per share dividend on a quarterly basis, which translates into a 1% annual yield.

The price to earnings ratio (P/E) is 18.3 as of the writing of this post, which is a significant discount to the rest of the companies in the sector. The average P/E ratio in the sector is 29.82.

Earnings growth is 18.6 as compared to a 21.41 average for the sector.

Earnings per share (EPS) is $2.03 and continues to increase quarter to quarter.

A few quick facts about the company…

Walgreen Co. was incorporated as an Illinois corporation in 1909 as a successor to a business founded in 1901. Walgreens is the nation’s largest drugstore chain (based on sales) and recorded its 33rd year of consecutive sales and earnings growth. During the year, the company opened or acquired 563 stores for a net increase of 478 stores after relocations and closings, not including 58 locations acquired from Option Care, Inc. The total number of locations at August 31, 2007 was 5,997 located in 48 states and Puerto Rico. Aggressive growth will continue as the company anticipates operating more than 7,000 locations in 2010.