3M gave investors some good news, though they might not have thought so at first: The industrial products manufacturer is paying billions to settle litigation tied to so-called forever chemicals.

Hadn't 3M already paid billions to settle the matter?

It had, but this agreement is about personal injury. And that makes it good news because each settlement moves 3M -- and investors -- away from having to think about forever chemicals, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. The Environmental Protection Agency has designated PFAS and related compounds as hazardous.

Under this new agreement, 3M will pay $7.4 billion to people exposed to PFAS through 3M products. The money will be disbursed over many years.

The government's hazardous designation essentially requires companies, to remove the substances from the environment. And 3M and others have also been sued by consumers believing they have been harmed by PFAS pollution.

In June 2023, 3M agreed to pay U.S. water utilities about $12.5 billion over 13 years for PFAS remediation. In August 2006, 3M settled with New Jersey.

Now, this new settlement settles most of the personal liability claims.

3M will end up spending in the range of $20 billion on PFAS. That's a lot of money, but having more certainty is worth a lot to investors.

In late trading Wednesday, the stock was up 9.7% at $194.14; the S&P 500 was up 1.7%.

"Overall, we think this is a very positive development," wrote Bernstein analyst Varun Govindaraj. "3M's ability to bound this with clear, predictable cash flows covering 99% of (current) personal injury claims is a positive because it also means that there is a broader end in sight for the company's broader liability to PFAS."

PFAS has been an overhang for years. Before the 2023 settlement, no Wall Street analyst recommended the stock. Now, 48% of analysts covering the company rate shares Buy. The average Buy-rating ratio for S&P 500 stocks typically ranges from about 55% to 60%.

The average analyst price target is about $195, up from about $92 in 2023, before the water utility settlement.