Ferro Corporation (FOE), the specialty chemical manufacturer, recently announced it was selling its fine chemicals business to Novolyte Technologies LP for $66 million in cash. The company said the proceeds will be used to pay down debt.

The business manufactures electrolytes used to make lithium batteries as well as specialty solvents. Novolyte will absorb the manufacturing employees.

Ferro, a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy), continues to have strong fundamentals.

On Aug 5, it reported second quarter earnings that beat Wall Street estimates by 31.25%. Sales rose 17% to $650 million from $553.7 million in the year ago period.

Consensus estimates for the third quarter are steady at 31 cents per share. Full year estimates are up 5 cents to $1.38 in the last 60 days. Analysts expect 2008 year-over-year earnings per share growth of 62.65%.

Ferro is now trading at 10.5x forward earnings. Its price-to-book is

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Layne Christensen Company (LAYN) has seen its stock fall in the market sell-off despite posting record revenues that grew 23.8% in the second quarter. LAYN has surprised on earnings 3 out of the last 4 quarters on average by 19.18%. Layne has a forward P/E of 8.05.

Company Description

Layne Christensen, a Zacks #1 Rank (strong buy), provides drilling services in four markets: water resources, mineral exploration, geoconstruction and energy services and production.

Its customers include a large cross section of industries from municipalities, industrial companies, miners, oil and gas companies and consulting firms. The company operates in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Australia, Africa and South America.

Layne has several different revenue streams, including Layne Energy, an exploration and production company with over 400 wells in the Mid-Continent Cherokee Basin.

Its Water Resource Division provides water related services including hydrological studies, well design, drilling and

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