Re: asbestos and bankruptcy; OWC. Looks to me like the only asbestos related company still standing is Owens Corning. And it looks pretty wobbly. Some settlement reached but apparently many new lawsuits and/or question of how many plaintiffs will opt out of settlement. Financials- earnings, book value, debt increases-- seem impossible (for me) to understand, yet alone analyze. Plus, co. is in housing - a cyclical business. Very ugly situation overall. Not a company or stock I could recommend to anybody.
Yet price to sales is low, expected p/e looks low, and the stock is hitting new lows. They seem to have an active R&D section which delivers new products.
The asbestos concerns for OWC have been around for many years. Still, in the past 5 years, the stock price has traded over twice the current $16+ figure. To me, I see it like I see MO: Either OWC is going to return to some substantially higher stock price than the current $16+ or else the market is saying the company is soon going to go into bankruptcy. I'll place a small bet (buy) on OWC at this time. (But I won't go for MO.)
Paul Senior
aside to asbestos followers: Yes, Johns Manville is still around too. Price, near lows, still looks a little too expensive, imo. |
