RE: interesting biz with div Hello Dave,
Chemtrade is a very interesting business.
I was an early investor in Marsulex which originally set up chemtrade as an investment trust to take over parts of their business which were very stable but not as exciting as some of the other MLX business and the major shareholder wanted to turn the acid business into cash when Income trusts were hot.
I did not buy any of Chemtrade at that time as I thought it was too high a price at the time.
I have seen how well chemtrade is run and chemtrade has steadily expanded in the same direction of providing services to other businesses to whom those services are critical but not strategic.
I have bought in at various prices ranging from a low of $4.64 in March of 2009 when the world was in a state of panic about the great recession and the feeling of many was that chemtrade would have to cut its payout. Unfortunately I only purchased 1000 shares at that price.
I have been buying since then and my purchases increased once they bought Marsulex in 2011, and I turned around and invested some of the proceeds of my sale of marsulex in Chemtrade.
I like to feel that I know the businesses and their philosophy fairly well. I have great confidence in their ability to run them professionally and successfully. I am not buying at the moment because I do not believe in investing too high a percentage in any one investment.
I also like the low payout as a percentage of available cash flow, and while I feel they could raise it I think their conservatism will probably delay any increase in the payout.
I also believe as you do that it will reach into the $20's range within the next while.