Contrasting Solstice Advanced Mat (NASDAQ:SOLS) and Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD)

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

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 company insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Air Products and Chemicals shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

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	4.10%	17.19%	7.29%

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 304.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Solstice Advanced Mat and Air Products and Chemicals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	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	11	1	2.68

Solstice Advanced Mat currently has a consensus price target of $77.30, suggesting a potential upside of 16.97%. Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus price target of $335.59, suggesting a potential upside of 6.67%. Given Solstice Advanced Mat’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Solstice Advanced Mat is more favorable than Air Products and Chemicals.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Solstice Advanced Mat and Air Products and Chemicals”s gross 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	2.67	$237.00 million	$2.04	32.39
Air Products and Chemicals	$12.99 billion	5.39	$532.10 million	$2.38	132.18

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

Summary

Air Products and Chemicals beats Solstice Advanced Mat on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Solstice Advanced Mat

Solstice Advanced Materials is a specialty materials company that develops and manufactures products for industrial and commercial customers. Its offerings include refrigerants and foam-blowing agents, materials used in semiconductor and electronics manufacturing, healthcare packaging films, and other performance materials. The company was established as a spin-off of Honeywell’s Advanced Materials business, bringing together product lines and technologies developed within Honeywell and its predecessor businesses.

About Air Products and Chemicals

Air Products and Chemicals is an industrial gases company that supplies gases, related equipment and services to businesses and institutions. Its products include atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide and specialty gases. The company serves a range of industries, including refining, chemicals, metals, electronics, food and healthcare. Its offerings support industrial processes and applications such as gas production and distribution, materials processing and process technology.