Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) & H. B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) Critical Analysis

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) and H. B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) are both mid-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Risk & Volatility

Minerals Technologies has a beta of 1.24, suggesting that its share price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, H. B. Fuller has a beta of 1.07, suggesting that its share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Minerals Technologies pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. H. B. Fuller pays an annual dividend of $0.94 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Minerals Technologies pays out -94.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. H. B. Fuller pays out 31.3% 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. Minerals Technologies has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years and H. B. Fuller has raised its dividend for 57 consecutive years. H. B. Fuller is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Minerals Technologies and H. B. Fuller’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Minerals Technologies	-0.89%	10.22%	5.03%
H. B. Fuller	4.38%	12.21%	4.55%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Minerals Technologies and H. B. Fuller, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Minerals Technologies	1	1	1	0	2.00
H. B. Fuller	1	2	3	0	2.33

Minerals Technologies currently has a consensus target price of $89.00, suggesting a potential upside of 31.08%. H. B. Fuller has a consensus target price of $67.75, suggesting a potential upside of 15.84%. Given Minerals Technologies’ higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Minerals Technologies is more favorable than H. B. Fuller.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Minerals Technologies and H. B. Fuller”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Minerals Technologies	$2.07 billion	1.02	-$18.40 million	($0.51)	-133.13
H. B. Fuller	$3.47 billion	0.92	$151.97 million	$3.00	19.50

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.3% of Minerals Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.9% of H. B. Fuller shares are held by institutional investors. 3.5% of Minerals Technologies shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of H. B. Fuller shares are held by 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.

Summary

H. B. Fuller beats Minerals Technologies on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Minerals Technologies

Minerals Technologies Inc. develops, produces, and markets various mineral, mineral-based, and related systems and services. The company operates through two segments, Consumer & Specialties, and Engineered Solutions segments. The Consumer & Specialties segment offers household and personal care products, such as pet litter, personal care, fabric care, edible oil and other fluid purification, animal health, and agricultural products; and specialty additives products, including precipitated calcium carbonate and ground calcium carbonate products that are used in the paper, paperboard, and fiber based packaging industries, as well as automotive, construction, and table and food applications. This segment produces limestone and dolomitic limestone used in construction, automotive, and consumer markets for packaging applications. The Engineered Solutions segment provides high-temperature technology products consisting of custom-blended mineral and non-mineral products for casting auto parts, farm and construction equipment, oil and gas production equipment, power generation turbine castings, and rail car components; and environmental and infrastructure products comprising geosynthetic clay lining systems, vapor intrusion mitigation products, sub surface waterproofing systems, green roofs, wastewater remediation, drinking water purification technologies, and drilling products. In addition, this segment provides chromite products; gunnable monolithic refractory products and application systems; monolithic refractory materials and pre-cast refractory shapes; refractory shapes and linings; carbon composite and pyrolitic graphite; and filtration and well testing services. It markets its products primarily through its direct sales force, as well as regional distributors. The company serves in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Minerals Technologies Inc. was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About H. B. Fuller

H.B. Fuller Company, together with its subsidiaries, formulates, manufactures, and markets adhesives, sealants, coatings, polymers, tapes, encapsulants, additives, and other specialty chemical products. It operates through three segments: Hygiene, Health and Consumable Adhesives; Engineering Adhesives; and Construction Adhesives. The Hygiene, Health and Consumable Adhesives segment produces and supplies specialty industrial adhesives, such as thermoplastic, thermoset, reactive, water-based, and solvent-based products for applications in various markets, including packaging, converting, nonwoven and hygiene, and health and beauty. The Engineering Adhesives segment produces and supplies high performance industrial adhesives comprising reactive, light cure, two-part liquids, polyurethane, silicone, film, and fast cure products to the durable assembly, performance wood and textile, transportation, electronics, clean energy, aerospace and defense, appliance, heavy machinery, and insulating glass markets. The Construction Adhesives segment provides products used for tile setting, commercial roofing, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning and insulation applications, as well as caulks and sealants for the consumer market and professional trade. The company sells its products directly to customers, as well as through distributors and retailers in the Americas, Europe, India, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. H.B. Fuller Company was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota.