Leading Wall Street Water Analyst Neil Berlant (Pt. 4 of 4) - Healthcare Water Firms Cantel Medical, Pall Corp
Submitted by EnergyTechStocks.com
Leading Wall Street water analyst Neil D. Berlant doesn’t like to recommend specific companies that he thinks will do well in the coming era of rapidly-rising water costs. But during a nearly three-hour interview with EnergyTechStocks.com, Berlant, who manages the PFW Water Fund (Symbol: PFWAX), came close, agreeing to name companies he sees as “representative” of the firms that should do well, concluding with:
Cantel Medical Corp. and Pall Corp., both of which trade on the New York Stock Exchange, neither of which attracts much analyst or media attention.
Berlant emphasized during the interview that, when it comes to water, “Wall Street doesn’t get it,” by which he meant there are too few analysts conducting too little research on water-related companies likely to share in the trillion-dollar-plus payday that awaits as a result of the need for infrastructure repairs, more desalination plants, and higher degrees of water purity for manufacturing and healthcare needs.
Cantel Medical was the third of three companies that seemed to elicit the most positive reactions from Berlant. (The others were Calgon Carbon and Energy Recovery, as noted in parts two and three of this series. To read parts two and three, see below.) Noting the healthcare crisis in the U.S., Berlant emphasized that a significant portion of Cantel Medical’s business is products for infection prevention, diagnostics, etc. requiring high degrees of water purity. “I’m very keen on Cantel Medical,” Berlant said. In June Cantel Medical reported fiscal third quarter fully-diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of 12 cents vs. 14 cents a year earlier, the most recent quarter impacted by a 3 cent charge related to the resignation of a former president. Sales for the quarter ended April 30 were up 18% over last year, to $64.2 million.
Pall Corp. was the other company involved in water purification for healthcare that Berlant mentioned as being worth a closer look. He said its products were important for drug manufacturing and blood purification, two growth fields. Pall describes itself as the global leader in the expanding field of filtration, separation and purification. In June Pall beat analysts’ expectation, recording a 26% increase in quarterly profits, to $63.3 million.
EnergyTechStocks.com also asked Berlant to comment on Goldman Sachs’ reported forecast that 10 water-related companies are potential acquisition candidates: Badger Meter, Calgon Carbon, Clarcor, Pentair, Pall, Insituform, Hyflux, Tetra Tech, Aqua Water and Watts Water. Berlant said he agreed on nine of the 10 names, the exception being Insituform, whose management has been heavily criticized in recent months. (For more see Goldman Sachs Reportedly Identifies 10 Water Companies It Sees As Acquisition Candidates.)
For other stories in this series, see:
