Daicel (OTCMKTS:DACHF) versus Neo Performance Materials (OTCMKTS:NOPMF) Financial Analysis

Neo Performance Materials (OTCMKTS:NOPMF) and Daicel (OTCMKTS:DACHF) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Neo Performance Materials pays an annual dividend of $0.29 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Daicel pays an annual dividend of $13.54 per share and has a dividend yield of 160.4%. Neo Performance Materials pays out -170.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Daicel pays out 17.2% 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.

Profitability

This table compares Neo Performance Materials and Daicel’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Neo Performance Materials	-1.30%	3.71%	2.32%
Daicel	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Neo Performance Materials and Daicel, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Neo Performance Materials	0	1	1	0	2.50
Daicel	0	1	0	0	2.00

Institutional & Insider Ownership

18.6% of Daicel shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Neo Performance Materials and Daicel”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Neo Performance Materials	$475.83 million	1.59	-$12.95 million	($0.17)	-106.82
Daicel	N/A	N/A	N/A	$78.72	0.11

Daicel has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Neo Performance Materials. Neo Performance Materials is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Daicel, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Neo Performance Materials beats Daicel on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Neo Performance Materials

Neo Performance Materials Inc. engages in the manufacture and sale of rare earth, magnetic powders, magnets, and rare metal-based functional materials in Canada and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Magnequench, Chemicals and Oxides, and Rare Metals. The Magnequench segment produces magnetic powders that are used in bonded and hot deformed fully dense neodymium-iron-boron magnets; and bonded magnets. Its powders are used in the production of bonded permanent magnets that are components in automotive motors, pumps, micro motors, traction motors, sensors, and other applications. The Chemicals and Oxides segments manufactures and distributes a range of industrial materials for use in auto catalysts, consumer electronics, petroleum refining, hybrid and electric vehicles, and municipal and industrial wastewater treatment applications. The Rare Metals segment sources, produces, reclaims, refines, and markets high-temperature metals that include tantalum, niobium, hafnium, and rhenium; and electronic metals, such as gallium and indium for jet engines, medical imaging, wireless technologies, and LED lightings, as well as flat panel displays, solar, steel additives, batteries, and electronic applications. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

About Daicel

Daicel Corporation engages in the materials, medical/healthcare, smart, safety, engineering plastics, and other businesses in Japan, China, and internationally. The company offers acetic acid, acetic acid derivative chemicals, acetate tow, acetic anhydride, thioglycolic acid, caprolactone derivatives, methyl 3-methoxyacrylate, cycloaliphatic epoxies, alkylamines comprising diethylhydroxyamine, and 1,3-butylene glycol, as well as cellulose acetate; and Actranza Lab, a drug delivery device. It also provides solutions for the electronics market, such as functional films and materials for use in smartphones, PCs, TVs, and in-vehicle displays; polymers and solvents for use in the semiconductor manufacturing process; optical lenses for use in VR, smartphones, and various sensors; printed electronic materials; and organic semiconductors. In addition, the company offers automobile airbags inflators comprising gas generation devices; pyro-fuses as safety systems for use in products, such as electric vehicles, renewable energy storage, and transmission systems and robots; and gas generators for seat belt pretensioners, as well as engineering plastics and plastic compound products, high performance polymer, functional sheets, formed trays, and packaging films. Further, it reuses water for medical care, drinking water, food, and wastewater fields; and provides chiral columns, chiral reagents, pharma excipients, bellocea S7, flavocell(S-equol), konjac ceramide, polyglycerols, urolithin A, and excipients for food, as well as analytical and separation services. The company’s products are used in transportation, electronics, medical care, personal care, everyday life, and environment and energy applications. The company was formerly known as Daicel Chemical Industries, Ltd. and changed its name to Daicel Corporation in October 2011. Daicel Corporation was incorporated in 1919 and is headquartered in Osaka, Japan.