Critical Survey: Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd. (OTCMKTS:IDKOY) & Icahn Enterprises (NASDAQ:IEP)

Icahn Enterprises (NASDAQ:IEP) and Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd. (OTCMKTS:IDKOY) are both multi-sector conglomerates companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, valuation, dividends and risk.

Dividends

Icahn Enterprises pays an annual dividend of $4.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 23.4%. Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd. pays an annual dividend of $11.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 84.7%. Icahn Enterprises pays out -221.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd. pays out 22.1% 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.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

87.1% of Icahn Enterprises shares are owned by institutional investors. 90.1% of Icahn Enterprises shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Icahn Enterprises and Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd., as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Icahn Enterprises	0	0	1	0	3.00
Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd.	0	0	0	0	N/A

Icahn Enterprises currently has a consensus target price of $27.00, suggesting a potential upside of 58.08%. Given Icahn Enterprises’ higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Icahn Enterprises is more favorable than Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd..

Profitability

This table compares Icahn Enterprises and Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd.’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Icahn Enterprises	-6.21%	-9.60%	-2.99%
Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd.	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Icahn Enterprises and Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd.’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Icahn Enterprises	$10.85 billion	0.68	-$684.00 million	($1.81)	-9.44
Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd.	N/A	N/A	N/A	$50.83	0.26

Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd. has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Icahn Enterprises. Icahn Enterprises is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd., indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

About Icahn Enterprises

Icahn Enterprises L.P., through its subsidiaries, engages in the investment, energy, automotive, food packaging, real estate, home fashion, and pharma businesses in the United States and Internationally. The Investment segment invests its proprietary capital through various private investment funds. This segment provides investment advisory and other related services. The Energy segment refines and markets transportation fuels in the form of gasoline and diesel fuels, as well as renewable diesel; and manufactures nitrogen fertilizers in the form of urea ammonium nitrate and ammonia. The Automotive segment sells automotive parts and materials, and retailed merchandise; offers automotive repair and maintenance services; and leases real estate properties. The Food Packaging segment produces and sells cellulosic, fibrous, and plastic casings that are used to prepare and package processed meat products. The Real Estate segment is involved in the leasing of land, retail, office, and industrial properties; the development and sale of single-family homes; and the operation of country clubs. The Home Fashion segment manufactures, sources, markets, distributes, and sells home fashion consumer products. The Pharma segment offers pharmaceutical products and services. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida.

About Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd.

Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd. engages in the petroleum, basic chemicals, functional materials, power and renewable energy, and resources businesses in Japan and internationally. The company's Petroleum segment engages in the procurement of crude oil and refining of petroleum products; sale of gasoline, diesel oil, kerosene, automotive lubricants, industrial kerosene, heavy oil, and aviation and marine fuel; and operation of hydrogen stations. Its Basic Chemicals segment manufactures and sells olefins, such as ethylene, propylene, and butadiene; aromatics, including benzene, styrene monomer, mixed xylene, and paraxylene; and other chemicals. The company's Functional Materials segment researches, develops, manufactures, and sells automotive, industrial, and marine lubricants, as well as grease; engineering plastic, adhesive materials, derivative products, and solvents; electronic materials, such as OLED; asphalt; microbial pesticides, soil amendments, and livestock related materials; and solid state lithium ion battery materials. Its Power and Renewable Energy segment operates thermal power plants; develops and operates renewable energy sources, including solar, wind, and biomass power plants; engages in the supply, wholesale, and retail of electric power; researches, develops, and manufactures CIS thin-film solar modules; and sells solar power systems. The company's Resources segments explores, develops, and produces oil and gas; produces and sells coal and uranium; operates geothermal power plants; and sale of electric power and steam. Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd. was founded in 1911 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.