Head to Head Review: Yara International ASA (OTCMKTS:YARIY) & CF Industries (NYSE:CF)

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.0% of Yara International ASA shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.1% of CF Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of CF Industries shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Yara International ASA and CF Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Yara International ASA	4.78%	19.27%	9.13%
CF Industries	21.80%	17.39%	9.82%

Volatility & Risk

Yara International ASA has a beta of 0.88, indicating that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CF Industries has a beta of 0.94, indicating that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Yara International ASA and CF Industries, 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
CF Industries	0	12	3	1	2.31

CF Industries has a consensus price target of $95.7143, suggesting a potential upside of 5.90%. Given CF Industries’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe CF Industries is more favorable than Yara International ASA.

Dividends

Yara International ASA pays an annual dividend of $0.17 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. CF Industries pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Yara International ASA pays out 12.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. CF Industries pays out 26.4% 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. CF Industries has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. CF Industries is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Yara International ASA and CF Industries”s top-line 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	0.67	$15.00 million	$1.38	13.24
CF Industries	$5.94 billion	2.58	$1.22 billion	$7.59	11.91

CF Industries has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Yara International ASA. CF Industries 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.

Summary

CF Industries beats Yara International ASA on 12 of the 18 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 CF Industries

CF Industries Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of hydrogen and nitrogen products for energy, fertilizer, emissions abatement, and other industrial activities in North America, Europe, and internationally. It operates through Ammonia, Granular Urea, UAN, AN, and Other segments. The company's principal products include anhydrous ammonia, granular urea, urea ammonium nitrate, and ammonium nitrate products. It also offers diesel exhaust fluid, urea liquor, nitric acid, and aqua ammonia products. The company primarily serves cooperatives, independent fertilizer distributors, traders, wholesalers, and industrial users. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois.