Comparing Givaudan (OTCMKTS:GVDNY) and Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR)

Givaudan (OTCMKTS:GVDNY) and Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Givaudan and Quaker Houghton, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Givaudan	1	1	2	1	2.60
Quaker Houghton	1	2	3	0	2.33

Quaker Houghton has a consensus price target of $175.67, suggesting a potential upside of 35.38%. Given Quaker Houghton’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Quaker Houghton is more favorable than Givaudan.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.0% of Givaudan shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.5% of Quaker Houghton shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Quaker Houghton shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Givaudan has a beta of 0.78, suggesting that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Quaker Houghton has a beta of 1.34, suggesting that its share price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Givaudan pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Quaker Houghton pays an annual dividend of $2.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Quaker Houghton pays out -1,691.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Quaker Houghton has increased its dividend for 17 consecutive years. Quaker Houghton is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Givaudan and Quaker Houghton”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Givaudan	$9.02 billion	N/A	$1.29 billion	N/A	N/A
Quaker Houghton	$1.89 billion	1.19	-$2.49 million	($0.12)	-1,081.28

Givaudan has higher revenue and earnings than Quaker Houghton.

Profitability

This table compares Givaudan and Quaker Houghton’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Givaudan	N/A	N/A	N/A
Quaker Houghton	-0.13%	8.99%	4.42%

Summary

Quaker Houghton beats Givaudan on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Givaudan

Givaudan SA manufactures, supplies, and sells fragrance, beauty, taste, and wellbeing products to the consumer goods industry. The company operates through divisions, Fragrance & Beauty, and Taste & Wellbeing. The Fragrance & Beauty division offers fine fragrances; consumer products, such as personal, home, fabric, and oral care; fragrance ingredients; and active beauty products. The Taste & Wellbeing division provides beverages, such as fizzy drinks, bottled waters, ready-to-drink juices, alcoholic beverages, and others; dairy and cheese products, including dairy drinks, yoghurt, ice cream, chilled desserts, cream cheese, and spreads; snacks; givaudan flavour ingredients; savory, and supplements and nutraceutical products; and biscuits, crackers, and cereals, as well as confectionery products, such as chewing gums, chocolates, and sweets. It operates in Switzerland, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, North America, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. Givaudan SA was founded in 1796 and is headquartered in Vernier, Switzerland.

About Quaker Houghton

Quaker Chemical Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, and markets various formulated specialty chemical products for a range of heavy industrial and manufacturing applications in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It offers metal removal fluids, cleaning fluids, corrosion inhibitors, metal drawing and forming fluids, die-cast mold releases, heat treatment and quenchants, metal forging fluids, hydraulic fluids, specialty greases, offshore sub-sea energy control fluids, rolling lubricants, rod and wire drawing fluids, and surface treatment chemicals. The company also provides chemical management services. It serves steel, aluminum, automotive, aerospace, offshore, container, mining, and metalworking companies. The company was founded in 1918 and is headquartered in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.