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Looking for broad exposure to the Materials - Broad segment of the equity market? You should consider the Fidelity MSCI Materials Index ETF (FMAT), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 10/21/2013.
Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.
Sector ETFs are also funds of convenience, offering many ways to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Materials - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 15, placing it in bottom 6%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by Fidelity. It has amassed assets over $538.09 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Materials - Broad segment of the equity market. FMAT seeks to match the performance of the MSCI USA IMI Materials Index before fees and expenses.
The MSCI USA IMI Materials Index represents the performance of the materials sector in the U.S. equity market.
Costs
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.08%, making it the least expensive product in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.57%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Looking at individual holdings, Linde Plc Common Stock (LIN) accounts for about 15.99% of total assets, followed by Sherwin Williams Co/the Common Stock Usd1.0 (SHW) and Air Products + Chemicals Inc Common Stock Usd1.0 (APD).
The top 10 holdings account for about 51.83% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, FMAT has added roughly 7.48%, and was up about 15.68% in the last one year (as of 09/16/2024). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $41.66 and $52.91.
The ETF has a beta of 1.11 and standard deviation of 19.99% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 118 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Fidelity MSCI Materials Index ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, FMAT is a good option for those seeking exposure to the Materials ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.
Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLB) tracks Materials Select Sector Index and the FlexShares Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources ETF (GUNR) tracks Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources Index. Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF has $5.42 billion in assets, FlexShares Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources ETF has $5.43 billion. XLB has an expense ratio of 0.09% and GUNR charges 0.46%.
Bottom Line
To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.
Zacks Investment Research
Based in St. Paul, Minnesota, Ecolab Inc. specializes in providing water, hygiene, and energy technologies and services. With a 1.1% gains over the same time frame.
In the longer term, ECL stock is up 25.6% on a YTD basis, outperforming the XLB’s 6.1% gains. Moreover, shares of ECL have rallied 36.9% over the past 52 weeks, surpassing XLB’s 11% return over the same time frame.
ECL has been trading above its 200-day moving average since mid-November 2023 and 50-day moving average since early August, indicating a bullish trend.
Ecolab's stock fell 7.7% on Jul. 30 following the release of its Q2 earnings. The company's adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.68, slightly above the $1.66 expected by analysts, but its revenue of $3.99 billion missed the forecast of $4.03 billion. Looking ahead, Ecolab expects Q3 earnings between $1.75 and $1.85 per share and has raised its full-year earnings projection to a range of $6.50 to $6.70 per share, up from the previous guidance of $6.40 to $6.70.
Furthermore, ECL has outpaced its rival Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.’s marginal gain on a YTD basis.
Analysts remain moderately optimistic about ECL’s prospects. The stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the 24 analysts in coverage, and the mean price target of $257.06 suggests a 3.2% premium to its current levels.
On the date of publication, Rashmi Kumari did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policyhere.
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. APD is expected to gain from its project investments, productivity actions and new business deals amid the softness in China and Europe.
The company’s shares have lost 9.6% over a year compared with a 10.6% decline of its industry.
Let’s find out why this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock is worth retaining at the moment.
High-return Projects and Productivity Actions Aid APD Stock
Air Products is well-placed to benefit from its investments in high-return industrial gas projects and productivity measures. It remains focused on its gasification strategy and is executing its growth projects. These projects are expected to be accretive to earnings and cash flows.
APD is realizing the benefits of the completion of the second phase of the Jazan project in Saudi Arabia. The company has a total available capacity to deploy (over fiscal 2024-2033) $30.8 billion in high-return investments aimed at creating significant shareholder value.
Air Products is also driving productivity to improve its cost structure. It is seeing the positive impacts of its productivity actions. Benefits from additional productivity and cost improvement programs are likely to support its margins moving ahead. The company also remains focused on improving pricing amid an inflationary environment.
The company also remains committed to maximizing returns to shareholders leveraging strong balance sheet and cash flows. Air Products’ board, in January 2024, increased its quarterly dividend to $1.77 per share. This marked the 42nd straight year of dividend increase. APD paid roughly $1.5 billion in dividends to shareholders in 2023. It expects to return roughly $1.6 billion to shareholders through dividends in 2024.
Softness in China & Europe a Worry for Air Products
The slowdown in China and Europe may affect APD’s business in these regions. The sluggish China economy is impacting volumes in the Industrial Gases - Asia segment. A slower economic recovery in China and the softness in electronics may continue to affect the segment’s volumes.
Air Products is also seeing weak demand for merchant products in Europe. Its volumes in Europe rose modestly year-over-year in the fiscal third quarter as the contribution of the new assets in Uzbekistan offset weaker merchant volumes. The lack of growth in industrial output in Europe is a concern for the near term.
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. Price and Consensus
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. Quote
Stocks to Consider
Better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are, Hawkins, Inc. HWKN, Element Solutions Inc ESI and Eldorado Gold Corporation EGO, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Hawkins’ current fiscal-year earnings is pegged at $4.14, indicating a rise of 15.3% from year-ago levels. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HWKN’s current fiscal-year earnings has increased 12.8% in the past 60 days. The stock has rallied around 101% in the past year.
The consensus estimate for Element Solutions’ current-year earnings has increased by 0.7% in the past 60 days. ESI beat the consensus estimate in three of the last four quarters while delivering in-line results on the other occasion. In this timeframe, it delivered an earnings surprise of around 3.8%, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Eldorado Gold’s current year earnings is pegged at $1.35 per share, indicating a year-over-year rise of 136.8%. EGO beat the consensus estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 430.3%. The company's shares have rallied roughly 64% in the past year.
Zacks Investment Research
Sept 9 (Reuters) - The global demand for helium is likely to nearly double by 2035, backed mostly by a rise in demand from the semiconductor industry due to the lack of viable alternatives, according to a report by market research firm IDTechEx.
Global demand could exceed 322 million cubic meters by 2035 for the gas used widely in manufacturing due to its cooling and inert properties, said the report, released in August.
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
The global semiconductor market is expected to grow by 13.1% in 2024, according to World Semiconductor Trade Statistics, amid a strong demand from artificial intelligence applications.
Helium is essential for heat management during semiconductor production and it has no viable alternatives currently.
As the gas is a finite resource, the total global reserves could run out at a much faster rate due to rising demand from industries such as AI, quantum computing, telecoms, aerospace and electric vehicles, according to the report.
CONTEXT
Production of helium, the second lightest element after hydrogen, is expected to rise with Qatar and Russia ramping up their output, the report said. However, there was no guarantee of a disruption-free supply due to geopolitical tensions, the report added.
Air Products APD.N, Linde LIN.O and Air Liquide AIRP.PA and the privately-held Zephyr Solutions are some of the biggest helium-producing companies in the world.
BY THE NUMBERS
Global helium production averaged about 160 million cubic feet between 2019 to 2023, according to the report.
Demand for the gas is likely to rise five-fold in the semiconductor industry, the report said.
Helium is only produced in a handful of countries, with the U.S. and Qatar among the leading players in the industry.
In 2023, the estimated U.S. sales of grade-a helium and gaseous helium was an estimated 2.8 billion cubic feet valued at about $1.1 billion, according to the U.S. geological survey data.
(Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
(( Sourasis.Bose@thomsonreuters.com ;))
Keywords: HELIUM-OUTLOOK/ (PIX)
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