FMC Technologies to Vend Material Handling Biz - Analyst Blog

Oil drilling equipment maker FMC Technologies Inc. FTI reported that it has entered into a definitive contract with Syntron Material Handling, LLC, a subsidiary of CA-based investment firm Levine Leichtman Capital Partners.  

Per the agreement, FMC Technologies is expected to sell its material handling products business, headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi. The deal, likely to close by the early part of second-quarter 2014, is pending regulatory approvals.

The material handling business, a section of the Energy Infrastructure segment of the company, primarily constructs conveyor and vibratory products. The equipment are utilized for loading, transporting and feeding bulk materials.  

Moreover, FMC Technologies reveals that it is not going to divest its engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) systems business. The EPC operations of the company mainly provide material handling systems and equipment to the customers worldwide.

Incorporated in 2000, Houston, Texas-based FMC Technologies is a leading manufacturer and supplier of technology solutions for the energy industry. The company, which operates 30 manufacturing facilities in 17 countries, is engaged in the designing, producing and servicing of technologically sophisticated systems and products such as subsea production and processing systems, surface wellhead production systems, high pressure fluid control equipment, measurement solutions, and marine loading systems for the oil and gas industry.

FMC Technologies currently retains a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), implying that it is expected perform in line with the broader U.S. equity market over the next one to three months.

Meanwhile, one can consider better-ranked players in the energy sector like Range Resources Corporation RRC, Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. PTEN and Helmerich & Payne Inc. HP. All the stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).