Top 5 Chemical Stocks To Invest In 2014

If you have to run ads defending your ingredients to stave off declining sales, maybe it's time to rethink your production.

Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO  ) �launched its first ads today defending the use of the artificial sweetener aspartame, arguing that not only is it safe to consume, but it can be healthier for you, too. With sales of soft drinks losing their pop, the beverage giant wants you to know you don't have to fear drinking its soda.

Aspartame, known more commonly by the brand name NutraSweet, is a controversial ingredient that's witnessing a large and growing resistance to its presence in the food chain despite�the FDA's having signed off on its safety. Monsanto� (NYSE: MON  ) owned the brand at one time but sold it to J.W. Childs in 2000. Even so, the sweetener is made with genetically modified bacteria -- E. coli, to be exact -- from the chemicals giant, and today the sweetener is found in more than 5,000 consumer foods and beverages worldwide. Sucralose, another widely used artificial sweetener, goes by its brand name Splenda.

Top 10 Income Companies To Own In Right Now: OCI Partners LP (OCIP)

OCI Partners LP, incorporated on February 07, 2013, owns and operates an integrated methanol and ammonia production facility that is strategically located on the Texas Gulf Coast near Beaumont. The Company is a methanol producer in the United States with an annual methanol production capacity of approximately 730,000 metric tons and an annual ammonia production capacity of approximately 265,000 metric tons, and it is in the early stages of a debottlenecking project that increases its annual methanol production capacity by 25% to approximately 912,500 metric tons and its annual ammonia production capacity by 15% to approximately 305,000 metric tons.

Both methanol and ammonia are global commodities that are essential building blocks for numerous end-use products. Methanol is a liquid petrochemical that is used in a variety of industrial and energy-related applications. Methanol is used in industrial applications to produce adhesives used in manufacturing wood products, such as plywood, particle board and laminates, resins to treat paper and plastic products, paint and varnish removers, solvents for the textile industry and polyester fibers for clothing and carpeting. Methanol is also used outside of the United States as a direct fuel for automobile engines, as a fuel blended with gasoline and as an octane booster in reformulated gasoline. In the United States, ammonia is primarily used as a feedstock to produce nitrogen fertilizers, such as urea and ammonium sulfate, and is also directly applied to soil as a fertilizer. In addition, ammonia is widely used in industrial applications, particularly in the Texas Gulf Coast market, including in the production of plastics, synthetic fibers, resins and numerous other chemical compounds.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Stocks on the Move: Potbelly Corp. (NASDAQ: PBPB) is up 119.1% at $30.68 after a blistering IPO at $14 a share. OCI Partners LP (NYSE: OCIP) is up 5.6% at $19.01 after an IPO at $18.00 a share. Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corp. (NYSE: CHMI) is down 7.6% at $18.48 following its IPO on Friday morning. Discovery Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: DSCO) is up 37.1% at $2.70 following approval of updated specifications for a drug to prevent respiratory distress in premature infants. Forest Oil Corp. (NYSE: FST) is down 9.7% at $5.74 following the sale of $1 billion worth of assets in the Texas panhandle.

Top 5 Chemical Stocks To Invest In 2014: Sigma-Aldrich Corp (SIAL)

Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, incorporated in May 12, 1975, is a life science and high technology company. The Company develops, manufactures, purchases and distributes the range of chemicals, biochemicals and equipment available globally and also provides global biopharmaceutical testing services. These chemical products, kits and services are used in scientific research, including genomic and proteomic research, biotechnology, pharmaceutical development and as key components in pharmaceutical, diagnostic and other high technology manufacturing. As of December 31, 2012, the Company offered approximately 45,000 equipment products. On January 31, 2012, the Company completed its acquisition of all of interest of BioReliance, a provider of global biopharmaceutical testing services. On April 2, 2012, the Company acquired Research Organics, a supplier of purity biochemicals.

The Company provides products and services that focus on research customers that use smaller quantities of its products in basic life science and high-technology research and development (R&D); manufacturing customers that use its products in quantities in lab-stage development and manufacturing; life science customers who use its biopharmaceutical testing services to facilitate the development, manufacturing and commercialization of biological drugs, and industrial and diagnostic companies that use its products in range of forms of assays and testing, as well as in clinical diagnostics. The Company has a customer base of commercial laboratories, pharmaceutical companies, industrial companies, universities, diagnostics companies, biotechnology companies, electronics companies, hospitals, governmental institutions and non-profit organizations located in the United States and globally.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Vanina Egea]

  At the beginning of April, the trade alarm for Sigma-Aldrich (SIAL) set off due to a larger seller coming together with the buyers to raise a posted offer. The phenomena pushed up stock face value, however unable to continue the previous trend. Hence, stock value has been on a decline since the month of March. Reasoning about the sources for the stagnation, will give potential investors important insight for a current or future investment. Given the nature of the firm, close attention should be paid to research and development. But, most importantly, to the business model as a whole and market environment. Looking at recent full year reports can also offer important information about specific performance indicators. In the middle, there is an important number of new positions consolidated by gurus through 2013, who would like to see new investors enter the business.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Sigma-Aldrich (NASDAQ: SIAL) is expected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.99 per share on revenue of $661.29 million.

  CR Bard (NYSE: BCR) is projected to post its Q3 earnings at $1.40 per share on revenue of $739.62 million.

• [By Luke Jacobi]

  Sigma-Aldrich (NASDAQ: SIAL) shares shot up 33.2 percent to $136.40 after Germany's Merck KGaA (OTC: MKGAY) announced its plans to acquire Sigma-Aldrich for $140 per share in cash.

Top 5 Chemical Stocks To Invest In 2014: Givaudan SA (GIVN)

Givaudan SA is a Switzerland-based holding company engaged in the fragrance and flavor industry. The Company has two business divisions: Fragrances and Flavors. The Fragrances business segment comprises the manufacture and sale of fragrances into three global business units: Fine Fragrances, comprising signature fragrances and line extensions, Consumer Products, comprising fabric and personal care, hair and skin care, household and air care, as well as oral care, and Fragrance Ingredients. The Flavors business division comprises the manufacture and sale of flavors into four business units: Beverages, comprising flavors for soft drinks, fruit juices and instant beverages; Dairy, comprising ice cream, yoghurt, desserts and yellow fats; Savory, covering soups and sauces, among others; and Confectionery. The Company is also engaged in research and development activities, which comprises the development of a palette of perfumery raw materials, both synthetic and natural. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Celeste Perri]

  Nestle SA (NESN) is selling Givaudan (GIVN) SA shares worth $1.27 billion at yesterday�� closing price to institutional investors, winding down its stake in the world�� largest flavorings maker.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Given Imaging (Nasdaq: GIVN  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Berkeley Group Holdings Plc (BKG) surged 8.3 percent after saying first-half profit rose 22 percent. London Stock Exchange Group Plc (LSE) climbed 2.4 percent after Bank of America Corp.�� Merrill Lynch unit recommended buying the stock. Givaudan SA (GIVN) lost 1.3 percent after Nestle SA said it will sell $1.27 billion of shares in the world�� largest flavorings maker.

Top 5 Chemical Stocks To Invest In 2014: KMG Chemicals Inc (KMG)

KMG Chemicals, Inc., incorporated on July 30, 1992, manufactures, formulates and globally distributes specialty chemicals. The Company has acquired and operates businesses selling electronic chemicals and industrial wood treating chemicals. The Company operates in two segments: electronic chemicals and wood treating chemicals. The Company's electronic chemicals segment provides wet process chemicals to the semiconductor industry, primarily to clean and etch silicon wafers in the production of semiconductors. The Company supplies wet process chemicals to the semiconductor industry in the United States and Europe. Its wood treating chemicals, pentachlorophenol (penta), and creosote, are sold to industrial customers who use these preservatives primarily to extend the useful life of utility poles and railroad crossties. The Company is the supplier of penta in North America, and supplier of creosote in the United States to wood treaters who do not produce their own creosote. On March 1, 2012, the Company discontinued its animal health business. In June 2013, the Company announced that it completed the acquisition of the Ultra Pure Chemicals subsidiaries of OM Group Inc located in the United States, England and Singapore.

Electronic Chemicals

The Company's electronic chemicals business sells wet process chemicals primarily to the semiconductor industry. These chemicals are used to clean and etch silicon wafers in the production of semiconductors. The Company's products include sulfuric, phosphoric, nitric and hydrofluoric acids, ammonium hydroxide, hydrogen peroxide, isopropyl alcohol and various blends of chemicals. The Company's products are sold in bulk and in containers, including bottles, drums and totes. This process is accomplished at the Company's Pueblo, Colorado, Hollister, California and Milan, Italy facilities, although the Company contracts with General Chemical to produce certain products for the Company at its facility. As of July 31, 2012, the Company's electronic ! chemicals business accounted for 58.5% of its net sales.

Wood Treating Chemicals

The Company supplies penta and creosote to industrial customers who use these products to extend the useful life of wood, primarily utility poles and railroad crossties. The Company's penta products include penta blocks, solutions and hydrochloric acid, a byproduct of penta production. Penta is used primarily to treat utility poles, protecting them from insect damage and decay. The Company manufactures solid penta blocks at its facility in Matamoros, Mexico. The Company sells solid penta to its customers, or make it into a liquid solution of penta concentrate at its Matamoros, Mexico and Tuscaloosa, Alabama facilities. The Company sells penta products primarily in the southeastern and northwestern United States and in Canada. The hydrochloric acid the Company produces as a byproduct of penta production is sold in Mexico for use in the steel and oils well service industries. Creosote is a wood preservative used to treat utility poles and railroad crossties. Creosote is produced by the distillation of coal tar, a by-product of the transformation of coal into coke. The Company sells creosote to wood treaters throughout the United States. As of July 31, 2012, the Company's wood treating chemicals constituted about 41.4% of the Company's net sales.

The Company competes with Honeywell, Kanto Corporation, Avantor, BASF and the OM Group.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Analysts expect KMG Chemicals (NYSE: KMG) to report its Q4 earnings at $0.27 per share on revenue of $79.00 million. KMG Chemicals shares surged 4.99% to close at $23.76 on Friday.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  KMG Chemicals (NYSE: KMG) is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.27 per share on revenue of $79.00 million.

  Brown & Brown (NYSE: BRO) is projected to post its Q3 earnings at $0.40 per share on revenue of $348.85 million.