3M poised to gain as economy reopens

Article Excerpt

Due to COVID-19, 3M had to quickly ramp up its production of various safety equipment, including N95 respirator masks (they block 95% of very small particles, including those containing the virus). That offset its slow sales to makers of automotive and electronic goods. However, demand from those customers should rebound in 2021 as vaccines let more parts of the economy reopen. That will let 3M keep rewarding investors with dividend hikes and share repurchases. 3M COMPANY $178 is a buy. The company (New York symbol MMM; Income Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 579.1 million; Market cap: $103.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.2; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.3m.com) produces more than 60,000 items, including air purifiers, adhesives, bandages and components for medical devices. Investors tap its main brands, including Post-it notes, Scotch tape, Scotch-Brite cleaning products, Scotchguard protection and Thinsulate insulation. 3M’s sales tend to fluctuate with the overall economy. They rose 8.5% from $30.11 billion in 2016 to $32.77 billion in…