The Best Stock in Delaware: DuPont

We scoured the nation to identify the best stock in every state. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. (symbol DD) is the publicly traded company we picked in Delaware. The company headquarters is located in Wilmington.

A word of caution: Since we selected a single stock from each state (plus one from D.C), and choices in some states are sparse, a few of our picks are best suited to investors comfortable with a higher degree of risk. This is not necessarily one of our 51 favorite stocks in the entire U.S., in other words.

DuPont by the Numbers

• Headquarters: Wilmington
• Share price: $81.34
• Market value: $70.5 billion
• Price-earnings ratio: 21

(Prices and data are as of June 22, 2017)

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In December 2015, DuPont agreed to merge with fellow chemical giant Dow Chemical. Having received regulatory approval in Europe and the U.S., the deal is expected to close in August. The “merger of equals” will result in a new company, to be called DowDuPont, equally owned by Dow and DuPont shareholders and dually headquartered in Delaware and Michigan. The companies’ management teams estimate the deal will create $3 billion in annual cost savings in the first 24 months for the combined company and add $1 billion in annual earnings growth in the first 36 months.

Upon completion of the merger, executives from the two companies are mulling the possibility of breaking the company into three more-focused publicly traded companies. Whether it splits up or remains intact, Muir believes DowDuPont will be well positioned to capitalize on long-term increases in demand for agricultural products, as well as take advantage of global economic growth.