Head to Head Comparison: Trinseo (NYSE:TSE) versus Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX)

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

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 raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Minerals Technologies has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

82.7% of Trinseo shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.3% of Minerals Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.5% of Trinseo shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of Minerals Technologies shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings 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 presently has a consensus target price of $1.00, indicating a potential upside of 334.78%. Minerals Technologies has a consensus target price of $90.00, indicating a potential upside of 47.48%. Given Trinseo’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Trinseo is more favorable than Minerals Technologies.

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%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Trinseo and Minerals Technologies”s gross 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.

Risk and Volatility

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

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.