Market Watch: Green Industry Stocks

Last year wasn’t a good year to be an individual investor in the stock market. Nor was 2002 a great time to be a publicly traded company, given that the Dow Jones dropped roughly 15 percent. But some companies fared better, including a few well-known green industry firms. Here’s a brief rundown of how some companies’ stocks performed in a tough year.

John Deere (DE) – John Deere’s stock remained strong, climbing approximately 10 percent in 2002. Still, the year was anything but calm for this
multi-billion-dollar company, which saw its stock range from $37.50 a share to a high point of $51.60, which it hit in November.

ServiceMaster (SVM) – The parent company of TruGreen-ChemLawn has seen its stock struggle for the last few years, and 2002 wasn’t any different. The stock opened above the $13 mark, but it fell below $9 a share in October
before climbing back over $11 a share to close out the year.

Toro (TTC) – Toro opened the year at less than $50 a share, but it peaked at
more than $68 a share before closing out the year in the mid-$60s. Growth
years of better than 30 percent can’t be expected every year, but Toro’s

stock is holding steady in the low $60s as of press time.

Lesco (LSCO) – After starting the year around $9 a share, the price dropped
to the $7 mark before Michael DiMino replaced Bill Foley as the new CEO.
From that point, the stock steadily climbed over the $12 mark, ultimately
finishing the year at $14 a share.

Caterpillar (CAT) – This is another stock that felt the market’s ups and

downs last year, sliding from nearly $60 last spring to less than $34 in
October. Ultimately, Caterpillar’s stock finished the year at
$47 a share.

The author is Editor/Publisher for Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at bwest@lawnandlandscape.com.