Westport, Conn.-based Terex Corp. was added to the Standard & Poors 500/Industrials listing in closing days of 2006, underscoring a decade-long climb
CP STAFF
Westport, Conn.-based Terex Corp. was added to the Standard & Poors 500/Industrials listing in closing days of 2006, underscoring a decade-long climb to large cap status. Wall Street investors accelerated that climb last year, as Terex stock opened at $29.58 (Jan. 3), closing at $64.58 (Dec. 29) for an impressive 118 percent gain. Since the mid-1990s, Terex has grown from under $1 billion to nearly $7 billion in annual sales on the strength of deals for such manufacturers as CMI Corp. and Advance Mixer, and a host of specialty and mainline construction equipment companies.
S&P Index Committee economists and analysts confine the 500 listing to operating U.S. companies with financial performance data such as positive earnings over a one-year or longer cycle and $4 billion-plus market capitalization, a threshold Terex easily crossed with its soaring stock value in 2006. The committee’s goal is to ensure the S&P 500 remains a leading indicator of U.S. equities, reflecting the risk and return characteristics of the broader large-cap [company] universe. The Index Committee also purports to maintain an S&P 500 balance in line with the sector balance of the eligible company universe. Among companies Terex is joining in the S&P 500 Industrials sector are Caterpillar Inc. and Deere & Co., each with significant construction equipment stakes. Vulcan Materials is the lone Index listing with aggregate and concrete operations.