High-quality firms make better spinoffs

Article Excerpt

Some spinoffs pay off almost immediately. High-quality firm Carrier is an example and is now up 235% since it was spun off less than two years ago. However, other spinoffs, like Vector Group and its recent Douglas Elliman spinoff, carry much more risk. Those two stocks will probably stay in a narrow range for the next year or so. CARRIER GLOBAL CORP. $49 is a buy. This company (New York symbol CARR; Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 867.7 million; Market cap: $42.5 billion; Dividend yield 1.2%; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.carrier.com) is a leading maker of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment. Carrier took its current form on April 3, 2020, when Raytheon Technologies Corp. (New York symbol RTX), formerly United Technologies (old symbol UTX), spun off that business as well as elevator-maker Otis Worldwide Corp. (New York symbol OTIS). For each UTX share investors held, they received 0.5 of a share in Otis and 1 share in Carrier. Carrier has now completed the sale…