I like the following three companies because they are very investor friendly. Very.
Have a look at Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ:PEIX) trading in the $1.40 range on over 2 million shares. PEIX has 220 employees, was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Sacramento, California.
PEIX produces and sells ethanol and its co-products in the western United States, primarily in California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Colorado, and Idaho. And PEIX has revenue streams: it also provides transportation, storage, and delivery of ethanol through third-party service providers. In addition to ethanol-to-gasoline refining and distribution PEIX also sells wet distillers grains to dairy operators and animal feed distributors.
VeraSun Energy Corp. (NYSE:VSE) was trading around $0.28 and has 496 employees. VSE was founded in 2001 and is based in Brookings, South Dakota. Now the day I checked out VSE it was entering bankruptcy. Why follow a stock in Chapter 11 (as of 10/31/08)? Several reasons; a bankruptcy judge will try and save those 496 jobs and preserve the company operations for a buyer to consider. VSE ethanol products include wet and dry distiller grains with solubles, which are used as animal feed; and corn oil that is used as an animal feed, as well as to produce biodiesel. Perhaps PEIX would be a good buyer (you see where my thinking is headed...). I think its worth following for nothing more than tracking industry consolidation.
Finally, I like Corn Products International (NYSE:CPO). It’s trading in the $25.00 range on 700 thousand plus shares. CPO has 7,100 employees and operates independently of Unilever Bestfoods as of December 31, 1997. CPO was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Westchester, Illinois. But it has Unilever standing behind it and a sort of ‘niche’ in the starch industry. Did he say ‘starch industry?’ Yep. CPO sells starch-based materials in North and South America, Asia, and Africa. CPO’s starch-based products comprise industrial and food-grade starches and everything from mayonnaise, corn gluten feed and meal and fuel.
MarketMan
