Head-To-Head Comparison: Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) versus Solstice Advanced Mat (NASDAQ:SOLS)

Solstice Advanced Mat (NASDAQ:SOLS) and Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) are both materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Solstice Advanced Mat and Air Products and Chemicals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Solstice Advanced Mat	7.79%	27.15%	6.97%
Air Products and Chemicals	-0.38%	16.87%	7.18%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

81.7% of Air Products and Chemicals shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Solstice Advanced Mat shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Air Products and Chemicals shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Solstice Advanced Mat and Air Products and Chemicals”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Solstice Advanced Mat	$3.89 billion	2.25	$237.00 million	$2.04	26.98
Air Products and Chemicals	$12.04 billion	5.73	-$394.50 million	($0.22)	-1,409.00

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Solstice Advanced Mat and Air Products and Chemicals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Solstice Advanced Mat	0	4	8	1	2.77
Air Products and Chemicals	0	7	10	2	2.74

Solstice Advanced Mat presently has a consensus price target of $77.30, indicating a potential upside of 40.44%. Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus price target of $333.88, indicating a potential upside of 7.71%. Given Solstice Advanced Mat’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Solstice Advanced Mat is more favorable than Air Products and Chemicals.

Dividends

Solstice Advanced Mat pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Air Products and Chemicals pays an annual dividend of $7.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Solstice Advanced Mat pays out 14.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Air Products and Chemicals pays out -3,290.9% 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 Solstice Advanced Mat on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Solstice Advanced Mat

Solstice Advanced Materials is a leading global specialty materials company that advances science for smarter outcomes. Solstice offers high-performance solutions that enable critical industries and applications, including refrigerants, semiconductor manufacturing, data center cooling, nuclear power, protective fibers, healthcare packaging and more.

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.