Reviewing Elementis (OTCMKTS:ELMTY) and Linde (NASDAQ:LIN)

Elementis (OTCMKTS:ELMTY) and Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and risk.

Dividends

Elementis pays an annual dividend of $0.19 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Linde pays an annual dividend of $6.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Linde pays out 42.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Linde has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Volatility & Risk

Elementis has a beta of 0.09, suggesting that its share price is 91% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Linde has a beta of 0.72, suggesting that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Elementis and Linde”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Elementis	$597.50 million	1.79	-$45.50 million	N/A	N/A
Linde	$33.99 billion	6.97	$6.90 billion	$15.06	34.01

Linde has higher revenue and earnings than Elementis.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Elementis and Linde, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Elementis	0	0	0	0	0.00
Linde	0	1	10	1	3.00

Linde has a consensus price target of $541.91, suggesting a potential upside of 5.81%. Given Linde’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Linde is more favorable than Elementis.

Profitability

This table compares Elementis and Linde’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Elementis	N/A	N/A	N/A
Linde	20.44%	19.80%	9.17%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

82.8% of Linde shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Linde shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Linde beats Elementis on 14 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Elementis

Elementis plc operates as a specialty chemical company in the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, North America, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Performance Specialties and Personal Care. The Performance Specialties segment engages in the production of rheological modifiers and additives for decorative and industrial coatings; and production and supply of talc for use in plastics, coatings, technical ceramics, and paper sectors. The Personal Care segment provides rheological modifiers and compounded products, including active ingredients for antiperspirants (AP) deodorants for personal care manufacturers. The company offers personal care products for antiperspirants, color cosmetics, and skin care applications; and performance specialties products for architectural coatings, adhesives, sealants and construction additives, and talc applications. Elementis plc was founded in 1844 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

About Linde

Linde plc operates as an industrial gas company in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and South Pacific. It offers atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and rare gases; and process gases, such as carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen, electronic gases, specialty gases, and acetylene. The company also designs and constructs turnkey process plants for third-party customers, as well as for the gas businesses in various locations, such as air separation, hydrogen, synthesis, olefin, and natural gas plants. It serves a range of industries, including healthcare, chemicals and energy, manufacturing, metals and mining, food and beverage, and electronics. The company was founded in 1879 and is based in Woking, the United Kingdom.