
DuPont (DD) Stock Soars in After-Hours Trading, CEO to Step Down
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- DuPont (DD) - Get Report stock is rising 5.48% to $54.09 in after-hours trading on Monday after Chair and CEO Ellen Kullman said she will step down from both positions, effective October 16.
"With a strong foundation in place now is the right time for a new leader to continue to drive the pace of change to capitalize fully on the opportunity ahead," Kullman said in a statement.
Board member Edward Breen will become interim chair and CEO until a replacement is found.
"Looking ahead, we will continue to drive productivity, and we plan to conduct a deep dive into the details of our cost structure and allocation of capital to ensure we deliver appropriate returns for shareholders," Breen added.
Additionally, DuPont lowered its 2015 earnings guidance to $2.75 per share from $3.10 per share due to the strengthening dollar and weaker agricultural markets.
Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates DU PONT (E I) DE NEMOURS as a Buy with a ratings score of B-. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:
We rate DU PONT (E I) DE NEMOURS (DD) a BUY. This is driven by a number of strengths, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, reasonable valuation levels, expanding profit margins and notable return on equity. We feel its strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows weak operating cash flow.
Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:
- The debt-to-equity ratio is somewhat low, currently at 0.94, and is less than that of the industry average, implying that there has been a relatively successful effort in the management of debt levels. To add to this, DD has a quick ratio of 1.56, which demonstrates the ability of the company to cover short-term liquidity needs.
- 41.07% is the gross profit margin for DU PONT (E I) DE NEMOURS which we consider to be strong. It has increased from the same quarter the previous year. Regardless of the strong results of the gross profit margin, the net profit margin of 10.89% trails the industry average.
- Current return on equity exceeded its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a clear sign of strength within the company. Compared to other companies in the Chemicals industry and the overall market on the basis of return on equity, DU PONT (E I) DE NEMOURS has underperformed in comparison with the industry average, but has exceeded that of the S&P 500.
- DD, with its decline in revenue, slightly underperformed the industry average of 11.3%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues fell by 11.4%. Weakness in the company's revenue seems to have hurt the bottom line, decreasing earnings per share.
- You can view the full analysis from the report here: DD








