Leading Independent Investment Research, Morningstar, Inc.

Morningstar

Leading Independent Investment Research

Morningstar, Inc.

Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. We offer an extensive line of products and services for individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, and retirement plan providers and sponsors. 

Morningstar provides data on more than 500,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 16 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries, with more than $180 billion in assets under advisement or management as of June 30, 2015. We have operations in 27 countries.

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Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul><li class="p1">The outlook for copper prices is worse than most think. Battered copper mining stocks may now screen as cheap, but we see further downside.&nbsp;</li><li class="p2">Copper price declines of the past few months have caused many analysts to pare their near-term price forecasts. Yet longer term, most remain bullish, citing copper's geological scarcity and continued, albeit slower, Chinese demand growth.</li><li class="p2">Most analysts forecast an eventual recovery to $2.25-$3.00 per pound, an outlook that informs aggressive price targets on copper mining stocks.&nbsp;</li><li class="p2">We forecast a long-term price of $2.00 per pound and expect ebbing Chinese demand, which accounts for roughly half of the global total, to push prices below $2.00 in 2016 and 2017.</li><li class="p2">We expect China's copper needs to fall as real estate activity fades to a level more commensurate with underlying urbanization trends and power spending shifts away from copper-heavy distribution to copper-light transmission.</li><li class="p2">On the supply side, cost deflation, a flattening of the cost curve, and rising scrap supplies all threaten prices.</li><li class="p2">We see significant downside risk in copper mining stocks.</li></ul>Analysts: Jeffrey Stafford, CFA &amp; Daniel Rohr, CFA

The outlook for copper prices is worse than most think. Battered copper mining stocks may now screen as cheap, but we see further downside.&nbsp;Copper price declines of the past few months have caused many analysts to pare their near-term price forecasts. Yet longer term, most remain bullish, citing copper's geological scarcity and continued, albeit slower, Chinese demand growth.Most analysts forecast an eventual recovery to $2.25-$3.00 per pound, an outlook that informs aggressive price targets on copper mining stocks.&nbsp;We forecast a long-term price of $2.00 per pound and expect ebbing Chinese demand, which accounts for roughly half of the global total, to push prices below $2.00 in 2016 and 2017.We expect China's copper needs to fall as real estate activity fades to a level more commensurate with underlying urbanization trends and power spending shifts away from copper-heavy distribution to copper-light transmission.On the supply side, cost deflation, a flattening of the cost curve, and rising scrap supplies all threaten prices.We see significant downside risk in copper mining stocks.Analysts: Jeffrey Stafford, CFA &amp; Daniel Rohr, CFA

The Outlook for Copper Prices Is Worse than Most Think

<ul><li>The precipitous slide in oil prices since fall 2014 has eroded the financial health of most exploration and production, or E&amp;P, firms.</li><li>Natural gas has been no safe haven either, with prices entrenched near 10- year lows.</li><li>Near-term fundamentals remain challenged for both commodities, and investors should be prepared for weak pricing to persist for much if not all of 2016&ndash;17.</li><li>As a result, many operators&mdash;who outspend cash flows even during the best of times&mdash;are currently hemorrhaging cash and seeing leverage rise to uncomfortable levels.</li><li>Investors are right to be concerned about whether the upstream space has the financial wherewithal to endure this sustained period of low oil and natural prices, and which firms might be casualties of such an environment.</li><li>Having analyzed the balance sheets, cost structures, and operations of our E&amp;P coverage list, we found that in the vast majority of cases, the E&amp;P firms we cover are well-equipped to cope with multiple years of low prices.</li><li>That's partly due to cost deflation and efficiency gains but most critically from the prompt utilization of capital markets earlier this year to prop up liquidity reserves.</li><li>To be sure, even within our coverage there exists a handful of firms that entered the downturn with too much leverage and hold lower quality assets&mdash;these are the few that may not emerge from the current environment unscathed.</li><li>But as a group, our E&amp;P universe seems more financially sound than headlines and investor sentiment might otherwise suggest.</li></ul>Analysts: David Meats, Mark Hanson CFA, Stephen Simko CFA, Brandon Hurst.Full report below the fold....

The precipitous slide in oil prices since fall 2014 has eroded the financial health of most exploration and production, or E&amp;P, firms.Natural gas has been no safe haven either, with prices entrenched near 10- year lows.Near-term fundamentals remain challenged for both commodities, and investors should be prepared for weak pricing to persist for much if not all of 2016&ndash;17.As a result, many operators&mdash;who outspend cash flows even during the best of times&mdash;are currently hemorrhaging cash and seeing leverage rise to uncomfortable levels.Investors are right to be concerned about whether the upstream space has the financial wherewithal to endure this sustained period of low oil and natural prices, and which firms might be casualties of such an environment.Having analyzed the balance sheets, cost structures, and operations of our E&amp;P coverage list, we found that in the vast majority of cases, the E&amp;P firms we cover are well-equipped to cope with multiple years of low prices.That's partly due to cost deflation and efficiency gains but most critically from the prompt utilization of capital markets earlier this year to prop up liquidity reserves.To be sure, even within our coverage there exists a handful of firms that entered the downturn with too much leverage and hold lower quality assets&mdash;these are the few that may not emerge from the current environment unscathed.But as a group, our E&amp;P universe seems more financially sound than headlines and investor sentiment might otherwise suggest.Analysts: David Meats, Mark Hanson CFA, Stephen Simko CFA, Brandon Hurst.Full report below the fold....

E&P Financial Health: Better Than You Think. Liquidity Reserves Will See Most Firms Through Downturn

United States

Crown Holdings, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells packaging products for consumer goods through plants located in countries around the world.  The Company's primary products include steel and aluminum cans for food, beverage, household, and other consumer products.  Crown also provides a variety of metal caps, closures, and dispensing systems.

WestRock Company provides consumer and corrugated packaging solutions. The Company offers merchandising displays, paperboard, recycling, and waste solutions. WestRock conducts business in the United States.

AptarGroup, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets pumps, dispensing closures, and aerosol valves.  The Company's products are used for fragrance/cosmetics, personal care, pharmaceutical, household/industrial, and food products. AptarGroup operates worldwide.

Ball Corporation provides metal packaging for beverages, foods, and household products. The Company also supplies aerospace and other technologies and services to commercial and governmental customers. Ball serves customers worldwide.

Avery Dennison Corporation produces pressure-sensitive materials and a variety of tickets, tags, labels and other converted products. The Company's pressure sensitive products are used in labeling, decorating, and specialty applications. Avery Dennison's non-pressure sensitive products include tickets, tags, RFID inlays, and services for retailers, apparel manufacturers and brand owners.

Graphic Packaging Holding Company is an integrated provider of paperboard and integrated paperboard packaging solutions to multinational beverage and consumer products companies.  The Company manufactures folding cartons for frozen and non-frozen food and beverage products.

Graphic Packaging Holding Company (GPK US)

Berry Global Group Inc. manufactures plastic products and containers. The Company produces agricultural film, moisture control products for buildings, closures, disposable cutlery, drop cloths, flexible packaging, overcaps, tapes, tubes, bottles, drink cups, lids, and trash bags. Berry Plastics markets its products worldwide.

International Paper Company produces and distributes paperboard-based industrial and consumer packaging, uncoated printing & writing papers and market pulp. It maintains a global network of manufacturing operations in North America, Europe, Latin America, Russia and Asia.

Sealed Air Corporation manufactures packaging and performance-based materials and equipment systems that serve food, industrial, medical, and consumer applications.

Greif Inc. manufactures and markets industrial packaging products and services. The Company provides steel, plastic, fiber, corrugated and multiwall containers. Greif also produces containerboard and has operations nationwide.

Amcor Limited is an international integrated packaging company offering packaging and related services.  Amcor primarily produces a wide range of packaging products which include corrugated boxes, cartons, aluminum and steel cans, flexible plastic packaging, PET plastic bottles and jars, and multi-wall sacks.

DS Smith Plc is an International paper company focused on packaging and office products. The Group collects waste paper, manufactures paper, converts corrugated packaging and produces bag-in-box, plastic corrugated and heavy duty corrugated packaging, as well as wholesales office supplies.

CCL Industries Inc. supplies manufacturing services and specialty packaging products for the non-durable consumer products market.  The Company provides formulation and manufacturing services, labels, aluminum and plastic specialty tubes, containers, and closures to marketers of cosmetic, personal care, pharmaceutical, household, and specialty food products.

Huhtamaki Oyj manufactures consumer packaging products.  The Company produces disposable food service and tableware products, such as cups, plates, and trays, as well as containers for fresh meats, fruits, dairy products, frozen foods, coffee, and detergents.  Huhtamaki makes the containers of paper, molded fibers, and plastics.  The Company manufactures in many countries and sells worldwide.

Klabin S.A. produces, exports, and recycles paper. The Company's products include packaging paper and board, corrugated boxes, industrial sacks and timber in logs for saw mills and veneer plants.

Toyo Seikan Group Holdings Ltd primarily manufactures, markets, and sells metal, plastic, and glass packaging products and containers.  The Company specializes in food cans, 18-liter cans, and other beverage cans.  Toyo Seikan also produces steel products such as steel sheets.

Vidrala SA manufactures glass bottles and markets them throughout Europe.  The Company produces bottles for beverages, vegetable oils, and preserves.

BillerudKorsnas AB offers primary fibre-based renewable packaging materials and packaging solutions used for consumer packaging and industrial purposes.

Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG manufactures cardboard, folding cartons, and packaging materials primarily from recycled wastepaper.  The Company operates production facilities in Austria and throughout Europe.

Packaging Corporation of America manufactures containerboard and corrugated packaging products for use in protecting goods during shipment.  The Company also produces multi-color boxes and displays, as well as meat boxes and wax-coated boxes for the agricultural industry.

Packaging Corporation of America (PKG US)

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Packaging Corporation of America (PKG US)

The Outlook for Copper Prices Is Worse than Most Think

The outlook for copper prices is worse than most think. Battered copper mining stocks may now screen as cheap, but we see further...

Morningstar, Inc.

E&P Financial Health: Better Than You Think. Liquidity Reserves Will See Most Firms Through Downturn

The precipitous slide in oil prices since fall 2014 has eroded the financial health of most exploration and production, or E&P, firms. Natural...

Morningstar, Inc.

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52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

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