Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC) and Arkema (OTCMKTS:ARKAY) Head-To-Head Contrast

Arkema (OTCMKTS:ARKAY) and Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Arkema and Oil-Dri Corporation Of America”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Arkema	$10.33 billion	0.45	$383.06 million	$2.08	29.35
Oil-Dri Corporation Of America	$485.57 million	1.47	$54.00 million	$3.64	13.43

Arkema has higher revenue and earnings than Oil-Dri Corporation Of America. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Arkema, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Arkema has a beta of 0.9, meaning that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Oil-Dri Corporation Of America has a beta of 0.75, meaning that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Arkema pays an annual dividend of $3.02 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Arkema pays out 145.2% 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 19.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America has increased its dividend for 11 consecutive years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Arkema and Oil-Dri Corporation Of America, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Arkema	2	3	1	0	1.83
Oil-Dri Corporation Of America	0	0	1	0	3.00

Profitability

This table compares Arkema and Oil-Dri Corporation Of America’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Arkema	1.55%	5.15%	2.70%
Oil-Dri Corporation Of America	11.10%	21.06%	14.19%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

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.

Summary

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America beats Arkema on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Arkema

Arkema S.A. manufactures and sells specialty chemicals and advanced materials worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Adhesive Solutions, Advanced Materials and Coating Solutions, and Intermediates. The Adhesive Solutions segment provides solutions for construction, renovation of buildings, DIY, durable goods, and packaging and non-woven applications; and supplies technologies used in building activities for businesses and individuals, including sealants, tiles, flooring adhesives and waterproofing systems, and technologies used in industry, which include automotive, textiles, glazing, flexible and rigid packaging, and hygiene markets. This segment also offers performance polymers, such as specialty polyamides, PVDF, polyimides, fluorospecialties, and polyetherketoneketone; and performance additives which includes molecular sieves, organic peroxides, thiochemicals, and hydrogen peroxide. The Advance Materials and Coating Solutions segment offers coating solutions, including comprising EU/US acrylics and coating resins; coating additives, such as sartomer photocure resins and coatex rheology additives. This segment also provides decorative paints, industrial coatings, and adhesives; and solutions for applications in the paper, superabsorbent, water treatment and oil and gas extraction, and 3D printing and electronics industries. The Intermediates segment provides fluorogases and acrylics; and industrial intermediate chemicals used in construction, refrigeration and air conditioning, automotive, coatings, and water treatment sectors. Arkema S.A. was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Colombes, France.

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.