Reviewing POSCO (NYSE:PKX) & SSAB (OTCMKTS:SSAAY)

SSAB (OTCMKTS:SSAAY) and POSCO (NYSE:PKX) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, risk, valuation and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for SSAB and POSCO, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SSAB	0	2	0	0	2.00
POSCO	0	0	0	0	0.00

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares SSAB and POSCO”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SSAB	$9.78 billion	0.61	$617.08 million	$0.23	13.07
POSCO	$53.28 billion	0.27	$787.77 million	$1.60	29.50

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

Dividends

SSAB pays an annual dividend of $0.09 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. POSCO pays an annual dividend of $1.78 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. SSAB pays out 39.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. POSCO pays out 111.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Risk and Volatility

SSAB has a beta of 1.34, indicating that its stock price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, POSCO has a beta of 1.35, indicating that its stock price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares SSAB and POSCO’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SSAB	4.99%	7.30%	4.68%
POSCO	1.20%	1.45%	0.86%

About SSAB

SSAB AB (publ) produces and sells steel products in Sweden, Finland, Rest of Europe, the United States, and internationally. It operates through five segments: SSAB Special Steels, SSAB Europe, SSAB Americas, Tibnor, and Ruukki Construction. The SSAB Special Steels segment offers quenched and tempered steels, and advanced high-strength steel products for steel and plate production. The SSAB Europe segment provides strip, heavy plate, and tubular products. The SSAB Americas segment sells heavy plates for steel and plate production. The Tibnor segment distributes a range of steel and non-ferrous metals in the Nordics and Baltics. The Ruukki Construction segment produces and sells energy-efficient building and construction solutions. It markets its steel products under the Strenx, Hardox, Docol, GreenCoat, Toolox, Armox, Duroxite, SSAB AM, SSAB Boron, SSAB Domex, SSAB Form, SSAB Laser, SSAB Weathering, Cor-Ten, and SSAB Multisteel brands. The company's products are used by customers in the heavy transport, construction and infrastructure, industrial applications, construction machinery, energy, and material handling markets. SSAB AB (publ) was founded in 1878 and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.

About POSCO

POSCO Holdings Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated steel producer in Korea and internationally. It operates through six segments: Steel, Trading, Construction, Logistics and Others, Green Materials and Energy, and Others. The company engages in the production, import, sale, and export of steel products, such as hot and cold rolled steel, stainless steel, plates, wire rods, and silicon steel sheets, as well as pig iron, billets, blooms, and slabs; trading of steel and raw materials, textiles, agricultural commodities, and other goods; natural resources development and power generation activities; and planning, designing, and construction of industrial plants, civil engineering projects, and commercial and residential buildings. It is also involved in the manufacture and sale of various energy-related and other industrial materials, including anode and cathode materials for rechargeable batteries; investment business; and provision of alternative environmentally-friendly energy solutions, as well as information technology and operational technology, and integrated logistics services. POSCO Holdings Inc. was incorporated in 1968 and is based in Seoul, South Korea.