Activist interest is a plus

Article Excerpt

SHERRITT INTERNATIONAL $4.63 (Toronto symbol S; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (1-800-704-6698; www.sherritt.com; Shares outstanding: 297.3 million; Market cap: $1.4 billion; Dividend yield: 0.9%) has fended off activist investor George Armoyan’s attempt to put three of his nominees on its nine-person board of directors. Meanwhile, Armoyan has put forward a number of proposals for Sherritt to cut costs, reduce its debt and better align what he sees as the interests of shareholders, management and the board directors. Even though he lost the board vote, Armoyan’s ongoing involvement, and his 5% interest in the company, should keep drawing investor attention to Sherritt’s strong long-term prospects. Sherritt is already putting a number of his proposals in place. Sherritt International is still a buy. buy…