Basf (OTCMKTS:BASFY) vs. Northern Technologies International (NASDAQ:NTIC) Head to Head Contrast

Basf (OTCMKTS:BASFY) and Northern Technologies International (NASDAQ:NTIC) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, risk, dividends, earnings and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Basf and Northern Technologies International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Basf	2.91%	3.90%	1.72%
Northern Technologies International	-0.87%	0.05%	0.04%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.0% of Basf shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 32.9% of Northern Technologies International shares are held by institutional investors. 24.9% of Northern Technologies International shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Basf pays an annual dividend of $0.47 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Northern Technologies International pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Basf pays out 81.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Northern Technologies International pays out -50.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Basf and Northern Technologies International”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Basf	$67.48 billion	0.76	$1.83 billion	$0.58	24.76
Northern Technologies International	$84.24 million	0.91	$20,000.00	($0.08)	-100.63

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Basf and Northern Technologies International, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Basf	1	3	4	1	2.56
Northern Technologies International	1	1	0	0	1.50

Risk & Volatility

Basf has a beta of 0.72, indicating that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Northern Technologies International has a beta of 0.19, indicating that its stock price is 81% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Basf beats Northern Technologies International on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Basf

BASF SE operates as a chemical company worldwide. It operates through six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care, and Agricultural Solutions. The Chemicals segment provides petrochemicals and intermediates. The Materials segment offers advanced materials and their precursors for applications and systems comprising isocyanates, polyamides, and inorganic basic products, as well as specialties for plastics and plastics processing industries. The Industrial Solutions segment develops and markets ingredients and additives for industrial applications, such as polymer dispersions, resins, additives, electronic materials, and antioxidants for automotive, plastics, paints and coatings, electronics, and energy and resource industries. The Surface Technologies segment provides automotive OEM and refinish coatings, surface treatment, catalysts, battery materials, and precious and base metal services for the automotive and chemical sectors. The Nutrition & Care segment offers ingredients for consumer goods in the areas of nutrition, home, personal care, and technical applications; and serves the food and feed producers, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, detergents, cleaners, and crop protection industries, as well as fast-moving consumer goods sector. The Agricultural Solutions segment provides seeds and seed treatment products; fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and biological crop protection products; and digital farming solutions. The company engages in engineering and other; rental and leasing; and commodity trading activities. BASF SE was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany.

About Northern Technologies International

Northern Technologies International Corporation develops and markets rust and corrosion inhibiting solutions in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and internationally. It offers rust and corrosion inhibiting products, such as plastic and paper packaging, liquids, coatings, rust removers, cleaners, diffusers, and engineered solutions designed for the oil and gas industry under the ZERUST brand. The company provides a portfolio of bio-based and certified compostable polymer resin compounds and finished products under the Natur-Tec brand. In addition, it offers on-site and technical consulting for rust and corrosion prevention issues. It sells its products and services to automotive, electronics, electrical, mechanical, military, retail consumer, and oil and gas markets through direct sales force, network of independent distributors, agents, manufacturer's sales representatives, and strategic partners. The company was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Circle Pines, Minnesota.