Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT) vs. International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) Critical Review

Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT) and International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Ingevity and International Flavors & Fragrances”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ingevity	$1.41 billion	1.85	-$430.30 million	($1.82)	-39.67
International Flavors & Fragrances	$10.89 billion	1.91	-$374.00 million	($1.37)	-59.39

International Flavors & Fragrances has higher revenue and earnings than Ingevity. International Flavors & Fragrances is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ingevity, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Ingevity and International Flavors & Fragrances’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ingevity	-5.14%	103.69%	9.17%
International Flavors & Fragrances	-3.20%	7.67%	4.07%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

91.6% of Ingevity shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.0% of International Flavors & Fragrances shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Ingevity shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of International Flavors & Fragrances shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Ingevity has a beta of 1.34, meaning that its share price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, International Flavors & Fragrances has a beta of 1.05, meaning that its share price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Ingevity and International Flavors & Fragrances, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ingevity	1	2	1	0	2.00
International Flavors & Fragrances	1	3	13	0	2.71

Ingevity currently has a consensus price target of $67.50, indicating a potential downside of 6.51%. International Flavors & Fragrances has a consensus price target of $91.17, indicating a potential upside of 12.05%. Given International Flavors & Fragrances’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe International Flavors & Fragrances is more favorable than Ingevity.

Summary

International Flavors & Fragrances beats Ingevity on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ingevity

Ingevity Corporation manufactures and sells activated carbon products, derivative specialty chemicals, and engineered polymers in North America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and South America. It operates through three segments: Performance Materials, Performance Chemicals, and Advanced Polymer Technologies. The Performance Materials segment engineers, manufactures, and sells hardwood-based and chemically activated carbon products for use in gasoline vapor emission control systems in cars, motorcycles, trucks, and boats. This segment also produces other activated carbon products for food, water, beverage, and chemical purification applications. The Performance Chemicals segment consists of road technologies and industrial specialties. This segment's products are used in pavement construction, pavement preservation, pavement reconstruction and recycling, road markings, agrochemical dispersants, paper chemicals, and other industrial uses. The Advanced Polymer Technologies segment produces caprolactone and caprolactone-based specialty polymers for use in coatings, resins, elastomers, adhesives, bioplastics, and medical devices. It serves automotive parts and components manufacturers through sales representatives and distributors. The company was formerly known as WestRock Company, Specialty Chemicals Business and changed its name to Ingevity Corporation in September 2015. Ingevity Corporation was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in North Charleston, South Carolina.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. engages in the manufacture and supply of flavors and fragrances used in the food, beverage, personal care, and household products industries. It operates through the following segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent and Pharma Solutions. The Nourish segment consists of legacy Taste segment combined with N&B’s Food & Beverage division and the food protection business of N&B’s Health & Biosciences division. The Health & Biosciences business consists of a biotechnology-driven portfolio of enzymes, food cultures, probiotics and specialty ingredients for food, home and personal care, and health and wellness applications. The Scent business creates fragrance compounds, fragrance ingredients and cosmetic ingredients that are integral elements in the world’s finest perfumes and best-known household and personal care products. The Pharma Solutions business produces a vast portfolio including cellulosics and seaweed-based pharma excipients, used to improve the functionality and delivery of active pharmaceutical ingredients, including controlled or modified drug release formulations, and enabling. The company was founded in 1833 and is headquartered in New York, NY.