Yara International ASA (OTCMKTS:YARIY) and ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) Critical Survey

Yara International ASA (OTCMKTS:YARIY) and ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and earnings.

Dividends

Yara International ASA pays an annual dividend of $0.17 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. ICL Group pays an annual dividend of $0.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Yara International ASA pays out 29.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ICL Group pays out 51.6% 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.

Profitability

This table compares Yara International ASA and ICL Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Yara International ASA	2.04%	10.42%	4.88%
ICL Group	5.66%	7.86%	4.16%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.0% of Yara International ASA shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 13.4% of ICL Group shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Yara International ASA has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ICL Group has a beta of 1.12, meaning that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Yara International ASA and ICL Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Yara International ASA	$13.93 billion	0.68	$15.00 million	$0.57	32.62
ICL Group	$6.84 billion	N/A	$407.00 million	$0.31	23.58

ICL Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Yara International ASA. ICL Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Yara International ASA, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Yara International ASA and ICL Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Yara International ASA	1	0	0	2	3.00
ICL Group	0	3	0	0	2.00

ICL Group has a consensus target price of $6.57, suggesting a potential downside of 10.17%. Given ICL Group’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe ICL Group is more favorable than Yara International ASA.

Summary

Yara International ASA beats ICL Group on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Yara International ASA

Yara International ASA provides crop nutrition and industrial solutions in Norway, European Union, Europe, Africa, Asia, North and Latin America, Australia, and New Zealand. The company offers ammonium- and urea-based fertilizers; compound fertilizers that contain nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium; coatings; biostimulants; organic-based fertilizers; green fertilizers are nitrate-based mineral fertilizers, as well as foliar and fertigation solutions; and nitrate, calcium nitrate, micronutrient, and fertigation and urea fertilizers. It also offers digital solutions, such as variable rate application solutions; N-Sensor, a tractor-mounted hardware; N-Tester, a handheld nitrogen measurement tool; YaraFX Insight, an agricultural API; and Atfarm, a digital toolbox for farmer. The company sells its products under YaraBela, YaraMila, YaraLiva, YaraVita, YaraRega, YaraTera, YaraSuna, and YaraVera and brands. Yara International ASA was founded in 1905 and is headquartered in Oslo, Norway.

About ICL Group

ICL Group Ltd, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty minerals and chemicals company worldwide. It operates in four segments: Industrial Products, Potash, Phosphate Solutions, and Growing Solutions. The Industrial Products segment produces bromine out of a solution that is a by-product of the potash production process, as well as bromine-based compounds; produces various grades of potash, salt, magnesium chloride, and magnesia products; and produces and markets phosphorous-based flame retardants and other phosphorus-based products. The Potash segment extracts potash from the Dead Sea; mines and produces potash and salt; produces polysulphate; produces, markets, and sells magnesium and magnesium alloys, as well as related by-products, including chlorine and sylvinite; and sells salt. The Phosphate Solutions segment uses phosphate commodity products to produce specialty products; produces and markets phosphate-based fertilizers, as well as sulphuric acid, green phosphoric acid, and phosphate fertilizers; and manufactures thermal phosphoric acid for various industrial end markets, such as oral care, cleaning products, paints and coatings, water treatment, asphalt modification, construction, and metal treatment. It also develops and produces functional food ingredients and phosphate additives for use in the processed meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, beverage, and baked goods markets; and produces milk and whey proteins for the food ingredients industry. The Growing Solutions segment develops, manufactures, markets, and sells fertilizers based primarily on nitrogen, potash, and phosphate, including water soluble specialty, liquid, soluble, and controlled-release fertilizers. It sells its products through marketing companies, agents, and distributors. The company was formerly known as Israel Chemicals Ltd. and changed its name to ICL Group Ltd in May 2020. The company was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel.