Basf (OTCMKTS:BASFY – Get Free Report) and Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC – Get Free Report) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.
Profitability
This table compares Basf and Oil-Dri Corporation Of America’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Basf | 2.91% | 3.90% | 1.72% |
| Oil-Dri Corporation Of America | 11.35% | 20.53% | 14.17% |
Risk and Volatility
Basf has a beta of 0.72, suggesting that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Oil-Dri Corporation Of America has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation & Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Basf | $67.48 billion | 0.73 | $1.83 billion | $0.58 | 23.92 |
| Oil-Dri Corporation Of America | $485.57 million | 2.83 | $54.00 million | $3.89 | 24.40 |
Basf has higher revenue and earnings than Oil-Dri Corporation Of America. Basf is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Oil-Dri Corporation Of America, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Basf and Oil-Dri Corporation Of America, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Basf | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2.56 |
| Oil-Dri Corporation Of America | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
Insider and Institutional Ownership
0.0% of Basf shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.0% of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America shares are held by institutional investors. 11.7% of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Dividends
Basf pays an annual dividend of $0.47 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America pays an annual dividend of $0.82 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Basf pays out 81.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America pays out 21.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America has increased its dividend for 11 consecutive years.
Summary
Oil-Dri Corporation Of America beats Basf on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Basf
BASF SE operates as a chemical company worldwide. It operates through six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care, and Agricultural Solutions. The Chemicals segment provides petrochemicals and intermediates. The Materials segment offers advanced materials and their precursors for applications and systems comprising isocyanates, polyamides, and inorganic basic products, as well as specialties for plastics and plastics processing industries. The Industrial Solutions segment develops and markets ingredients and additives for industrial applications, such as polymer dispersions, resins, additives, electronic materials, and antioxidants for automotive, plastics, paints and coatings, electronics, and energy and resource industries. The Surface Technologies segment provides automotive OEM and refinish coatings, surface treatment, catalysts, battery materials, and precious and base metal services for the automotive and chemical sectors. The Nutrition & Care segment offers ingredients for consumer goods in the areas of nutrition, home, personal care, and technical applications; and serves the food and feed producers, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, detergents, cleaners, and crop protection industries, as well as fast-moving consumer goods sector. The Agricultural Solutions segment provides seeds and seed treatment products; fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and biological crop protection products; and digital farming solutions. The company engages in engineering and other; rental and leasing; and commodity trading activities. BASF SE was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany.
About Oil-Dri Corporation Of America
Oil-Dri Corporation of America is a manufacturer and supplier of specialty sorbent products for the pet care, animal health and nutrition, fluids purification, agricultural ingredients, sports field, industrial and automotive markets. It operates through the Business to Business Products Group and Retail and Wholesale Products Group segments. The Business to Business Products Group segment’s customers include processors and refiners of edible oils, jet fuel and biofuel, manufacturers of animal feed and agricultural chemicals, distributors of animal health and nutrition products, and marketers of consumer products. The Retail and Wholesale Products Group segment customers include retailers of cat litter and related accessories such as mass merchandisers, drugstore chains, pet specialty retail outlets, dollar stores, retail grocery stores as well as distributors of industrial cleanup and automotive products, environmental service companies, and sports field product users. The company was founded by Nick Jaffee in 1941 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.
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