Gravel Takes on A Gold-Like ShineFYI - PLS a possible takeover candidate, wonder what that means for us??
Breaking News
GRAVEL TAKES ON A GOLD-LIKE SHINE
Leonard Zehr
00:00 EDT Monday, April 23, 2007
The hot money that follows stock picker Michael Irwin is getting a lesson in aggregates. No, not sums, but instead crushed stone, sand and gravel found in naturally occurring deposits, and used in construction. Specifically, he likes Polaris Minerals Corp., which ships aggregates 1,900 kilometres from British Columbia to California at a cost that's almost the same as trucking it 40 km.
Shares of Polaris have doubled since October and, at $9.58, closed Friday on the TSX just shy of a 52-week high. Mr. Irwin's ABC Funds bought slightly less than 10 per cent of the company's initial public offering at a price of $4.80 a share at the end of 2005, making it one of the company's largest institutional shareholders.
The aggregates sector is consolidating on heightened demand and already this year, Cemex SA has acquired Rinker Group Ltd. and Vulcan Materials Co. has picked up Florida Rock Industries Inc., which could make Polaris a takeover candidate. It also is benefiting from sand and gravel price increases, new production and additional quarry development.