Yahoo Finance 3M Teams Up With Cummins to Increase Filter Output for PAPRs
3M Company MMM announced that it will collaborate with Cummins Inc. CMI in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Notably, the company will partner with Cummins for expanding high-efficiency particulate filter production for its powered air-purifying respirators (“PAPRs”).
As noted, the collaboration can increase the filters’ production to more than twice its current level for 3M’s PAPRs. This will help to address the increased demand for filters as the company has already expanded its production of PAPRs in response to the coronavirus-related health concerns.
Notably, 3M’s PAPRs incorporate a waist-mounted, battery-powered blower, which helps in directing filtered air into the hood. This, in turn, helps in providing respiratory protection to workers in several industries, including healthcare. Notably, the production of the filters will likely begin by April-end at Cummins’ production facility in Neillsville.
In response to the surge in demand for personal protective equipment due to the coronavirus outbreak, 3M has increased its production of N95 and other respirators globally to a rate of 1.1 billion per year. It is worth mentioning here that the company has been boosting its investments, largely in the United States, in an effort to enhance its global production capacity further. In addition, it has been cooperating with the U.S. government, with a focus on importing 166.5 million respirators from its overseas operational sites.
Zacks Rank, Price Performance and Estimate Trend
The company, with an $86.4-billion market capitalization, currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Over the past year, its share price has decreased 30.4% compared with the industry’s decline of 17.4%.
In the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its earnings has been lowered by 13% to $8.16 for 2020 and by 9.7% to $9.02 for 2021.
Stocks to Consider
A couple of better-ranked stocks are Tennant Company TNC and Griffon Corporation GFF. While Tennant currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Griffon carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Tennant delivered a positive earnings surprise of 26.60%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.
Griffon delivered a positive earnings surprise of 20.34%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.
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Cummins Inc. (CMI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
3M Company (MMM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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