Trinseo (NYSE:TSE) vs. Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) Head-To-Head Comparison

Trinseo (NYSE:TSE) and Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) are both small-cap materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations and risk.

Risk and Volatility

Trinseo has a beta of 1.46, meaning that its share price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Minerals Technologies has a beta of 1.15, meaning that its share price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Trinseo pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 17.4%. Minerals Technologies pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Trinseo pays out -0.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Minerals Technologies pays out -24.0% 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. Trinseo has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Minerals Technologies has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Trinseo and Minerals Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Trinseo	-13.15%	N/A	-11.72%
Minerals Technologies	-3.12%	10.73%	5.15%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Trinseo and Minerals Technologies”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Trinseo	$3.13 billion	0.00	-$348.50 million	($11.55)	-0.02
Minerals Technologies	$2.07 billion	0.91	-$18.40 million	($2.17)	-28.12

Minerals Technologies has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Trinseo. Minerals Technologies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Trinseo, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

82.7% of Trinseo shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.3% of Minerals Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 4.5% of Trinseo shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of Minerals Technologies shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Trinseo and Minerals Technologies, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Trinseo	1	2	0	0	1.67
Minerals Technologies	2	0	1	0	1.67

Trinseo currently has a consensus price target of $1.00, suggesting a potential upside of 334.78%. Minerals Technologies has a consensus price target of $90.00, suggesting a potential upside of 47.48%. Given Trinseo’s higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Trinseo is more favorable than Minerals Technologies.

Summary

Minerals Technologies beats Trinseo on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Trinseo

Trinseo plc (NYSE:TSE) is a global materials company that develops, manufactures and sells specialty and commodity polymers, latex binders and synthetic rubber. Its materials are used in products across industries such as packaging, consumer goods, automotive, construction, appliances, electronics and healthcare. The company’s product portfolio has included plastics such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polystyrene and polycarbonate, as well as specialty resins, acrylic products, latex binders and rubber materials.

About Minerals Technologies

Minerals Technologies Inc. is a global specialty minerals company that develops and produces mineral-based products, technologies and services for industrial and consumer markets. Its offerings include bentonite, calcium carbonate, talc and other mineral products, as well as related processing and application technologies. The company serves customers in industries including paper and packaging, construction, steel and foundry, environmental services, energy and consumer products. Its products are used in applications such as paper manufacturing, building materials, metal casting and household goods.