Northern Technologies International (NASDAQ:NTIC) vs. Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Head-To-Head Analysis

Northern Technologies International (NASDAQ:NTIC) and Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Northern Technologies International and Air Products and Chemicals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Northern Technologies International	2	0	0	0	1.00
Air Products and Chemicals	1	7	7	1	2.50

Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus price target of $292.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.66%. Given Air Products and Chemicals’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Air Products and Chemicals is more favorable than Northern Technologies International.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

32.9% of Northern Technologies International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.7% of Air Products and Chemicals shares are held by institutional investors. 24.9% of Northern Technologies International shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Air Products and Chemicals shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Northern Technologies International has a beta of 0.15, meaning that its share price is 85% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Air Products and Chemicals has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Northern Technologies International and Air Products and Chemicals”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Northern Technologies International	$84.24 million	0.98	$20,000.00	($0.01)	-868.50
Air Products and Chemicals	$12.04 billion	4.88	-$394.50 million	($1.78)	-148.24

Northern Technologies International has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Air Products and Chemicals. Northern Technologies International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Air Products and Chemicals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Northern Technologies International and Air Products and Chemicals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Northern Technologies International	0.02%	-0.02%	-0.01%
Air Products and Chemicals	-3.28%	15.18%	6.64%

Dividends

Northern Technologies International pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Air Products and Chemicals pays an annual dividend of $7.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Northern Technologies International pays out -400.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Air Products and Chemicals pays out -402.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Air Products and Chemicals has increased its dividend for 43 consecutive years. Air Products and Chemicals is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Air Products and Chemicals beats Northern Technologies International on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Northern Technologies International

Northern Technologies International Corporation develops and markets rust and corrosion inhibiting solutions in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and internationally. It offers rust and corrosion inhibiting products, such as plastic and paper packaging, liquids, coatings, rust removers, cleaners, diffusers, and engineered solutions designed for the oil and gas industry under the ZERUST brand. The company provides a portfolio of bio-based and certified compostable polymer resin compounds and finished products under the Natur-Tec brand. In addition, it offers on-site and technical consulting for rust and corrosion prevention issues. It sells its products and services to automotive, electronics, electrical, mechanical, military, retail consumer, and oil and gas markets through direct sales force, network of independent distributors, agents, manufacturer's sales representatives, and strategic partners. The company was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Circle Pines, Minnesota.

About Air Products and Chemicals

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. provides atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, equipment, and related services in the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, India, and internationally. The company produces atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, and argon; process gases, such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and syngas; and specialty gases for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, manufacturing, electronics, energy production, medical, food, and metals. It also designs and manufactures equipment for air separation, hydrocarbon recovery and purification, natural gas liquefaction, and liquid helium and liquid hydrogen transport and storage. The company was founded in 1940 and is headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania.