Analyzing Givaudan (OTCMKTS:GVDNY) and Celanese (NYSE:CE)

Celanese (NYSE:CE) and Givaudan (OTCMKTS:GVDNY) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Celanese and Givaudan, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Celanese	3	11	7	0	2.19
Givaudan	0	0	2	2	3.50

Celanese presently has a consensus target price of $54.78, indicating a potential upside of 34.92%. Given Celanese’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Celanese is more favorable than Givaudan.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Celanese and Givaudan”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Celanese	$10.28 billion	0.43	-$1.52 billion	($28.27)	-1.44
Givaudan	$8.42 billion	4.57	$1.24 billion	N/A	N/A

Givaudan has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Celanese.

Dividends

Celanese pays an annual dividend of $0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Givaudan pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Celanese pays out -0.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

98.9% of Celanese shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Givaudan shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Celanese shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Celanese has a beta of 1.13, meaning that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Givaudan has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Celanese and Givaudan’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Celanese	-31.85%	9.87%	2.29%
Givaudan	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Celanese beats Givaudan on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Celanese

Celanese Corporation, a chemical and specialty materials company, manufactures and sells high performance engineered polymers in the United States and internationally. It operates through Engineered Materials and Acetyl Chain. The Engineered Materials segment develops, produces, and supplies specialty polymers for automotive and medical applications, as well as for use in industrial products and consumer electronics. The Acetyl Chain segment produces and supplies acetyl products, including acetic acid, vinyl acetate monomers, acetic anhydride, and acetate esters that are used as starting materials for colorants, paints, adhesives, coatings, and pharmaceuticals; and organic solvents and intermediates for pharmaceutical, agricultural, and chemical products. It also offers vinyl acetate-based emulsions for use in paints and coatings, adhesives, construction, glass fiber, textiles, and paper applications; and ethylene vinyl acetate resins and compounds, as well as low-density polyethylene for use in flexible packaging films, lamination film products, hot melt adhesives, automotive parts, and carpeting applications. In addition, it provides redispersible powders (RDP) for use in construction applications, including flooring, plasters, insulation, tiling, and waterproofing. Celanese Corporation was founded in 1918 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.

About Givaudan

Givaudan SA manufactures, supplies, and sells fragrance, beauty, taste, and wellbeing products to the consumer goods industry. The company operates through divisions, Fragrance & Beauty, and Taste & Wellbeing. The Fragrance & Beauty division offers fine fragrances; consumer products, such as personal, home, fabric, and oral care; fragrance ingredients; and active beauty products. The Taste & Wellbeing division provides beverages, such as fizzy drinks, bottled waters, ready-to-drink juices, alcoholic beverages, and others; dairy and cheese products, including dairy drinks, yoghurt, ice cream, chilled desserts, cream cheese, and spreads; snacks; givaudan flavour ingredients; savory, and supplements and nutraceutical products; and biscuits, crackers, and cereals, as well as confectionery products, such as chewing gums, chocolates, and sweets. It operates in Switzerland, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, North America, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. Givaudan SA was founded in 1796 and is headquartered in Vernier, Switzerland.