Head-To-Head Survey: Olin (NYSE:OLN) vs. Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG)

Olin (NYSE:OLN) and Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) are both materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, risk, institutional ownership and earnings.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

88.7% of Olin shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.1% of Scotts Miracle-Gro shares are held by institutional investors. 1.6% of Olin shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 24.4% of Scotts Miracle-Gro shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Olin has a beta of 1.2, suggesting that its stock price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Scotts Miracle-Gro has a beta of 1.83, suggesting that its stock price is 83% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Olin and Scotts Miracle-Gro”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Olin	$6.78 billion	0.28	-$100.50 million	($1.23)	-13.63
Scotts Miracle-Gro	$3.41 billion	0.90	$145.20 million	$1.15	45.97

Scotts Miracle-Gro has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Olin. Olin is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Scotts Miracle-Gro, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Olin and Scotts Miracle-Gro’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Olin	-2.08%	-4.76%	-1.17%
Scotts Miracle-Gro	2.19%	-81.90%	8.97%

Dividends

Olin pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. Scotts Miracle-Gro pays an annual dividend of $2.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. Olin pays out -65.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Scotts Miracle-Gro pays out 229.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Olin and Scotts Miracle-Gro, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Olin	3	11	1	1	2.00
Scotts Miracle-Gro	0	3	3	0	2.50

Olin presently has a consensus price target of $21.77, indicating a potential upside of 29.84%. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a consensus price target of $75.40, indicating a potential upside of 42.63%. Given Scotts Miracle-Gro’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Scotts Miracle-Gro is more favorable than Olin.

Summary

Scotts Miracle-Gro beats Olin on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Olin

Olin Corporation manufactures and distributes chemical products in the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Canada. It operates through three segments: Chlor Alkali Products and Vinyls; Epoxy; and Winchester. The Chlor Alkali Products and Vinyls segment offers chlorine and caustic soda, ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride monomers, methyl chloride, methylene chloride, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, perchloroethylene, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen, bleach products, potassium hydroxide, and chlorinated organics intermediates and solvents. The Epoxy segment provides Allylics, such as allyl chloride, epichlorohydrin, and glycerin; aromatics, including acetone, bisphenol, cumene, and phenol; liquid and solid epoxy resins; and converted epoxy resins and additives. The Winchester segment offers sporting ammunition products, including shotshells, small caliber centerfire, and rimfire ammunition products for hunters and recreational shooters, and law enforcement agencies; small caliber military ammunition products for use in infantry and mounted weapons; and industrial products comprising gauge loads and powder-actuated tool loads for maintenance applications in power and concrete industries, and powder-actuated tools in construction industry. The company markets its products through its sales force, as well as directly to various industrial customers, mass merchants, retailers, wholesalers, gun clubs, other distributors, and the U.S. Government and its prime contractors. Olin Corporation was incorporated in 1892 and is based in Clayton, Missouri.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and sells products for lawn, garden care, and indoor and hydroponic gardening in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Consumer, Hawthorne, and Other. The company provides lawn care products, comprising lawn fertilizers, grass seed products, spreaders, and other durable products, as well as lawn-related weed, pest, and disease control products; and gardening and landscape products, which include water-soluble and continuous-release plant foods, potting mixes, garden soils, mulches and ground cover products, plant-related pest and disease control products, organic garden products, and live goods and seeding solutions. It offers hydroponic products that help users to grow plants, flowers, and vegetables using little or no soil; lighting systems and components for use in hydroponic and indoor gardening applications; insect, rodent, and weed control products for home areas; and non-selective weed killer products. The company sells its products under the Scotts, Turf Builder, EZ Seed, PatchMaster, Thick'R Lawn, GrubEx, EdgeGuard, Handy Green II, Miracle-Gro, LiquaFeed, Shake N Feed, Hyponex, Earthgro, Nature Scapes, Ortho, Miracle-Gro Performance Organics, Miracle-Gro Organic Choice, Whitney Farms, EcoScraps, Mother Earth, Botanicare, General Hydroponics, Cyco, Gavita, Agrolux, HydroLogic Purification System, Gro Pro, AeroGarden, Titan, Tomcat, Ortho Weed B Gon, Roundup, Groundclear, and Alchemist brands. It serves home centers, mass merchandisers, warehouse clubs, large hardware chains, independent hardware stores, nurseries, garden centers, e-commerce platforms, and food and drug stores, as well as indoor gardening and hydroponic distributors, retailers, and growers. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company was founded in 1868 and is headquartered in Marysville, Ohio.