Head-To-Head Analysis: Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) & DAQO New Energy (NYSE:DQ)

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) and DAQO New Energy (NYSE:DQ) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Risk & Volatility

Minerals Technologies has a beta of 1.22, meaning that its stock price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, DAQO New Energy has a beta of 0.5, meaning that its stock price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Minerals Technologies and DAQO New Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Minerals Technologies	0.10%	10.64%	5.34%
DAQO New Energy	-65.64%	-6.54%	-5.97%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

97.3% of Minerals Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.2% of DAQO New Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.3% of Minerals Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 24.3% of DAQO New Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Minerals Technologies and DAQO New Energy”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Minerals Technologies	$2.06 billion	0.98	$167.10 million	$0.06	1,076.23
DAQO New Energy	$1.03 billion	1.73	-$345.21 million	($5.84)	-4.54

Minerals Technologies has higher revenue and earnings than DAQO New Energy. DAQO New Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Minerals Technologies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Minerals Technologies and DAQO New Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Minerals Technologies	0	0	1	0	3.00
DAQO New Energy	0	1	4	2	3.14

Minerals Technologies currently has a consensus target price of $84.00, suggesting a potential upside of 30.08%. DAQO New Energy has a consensus target price of $26.10, suggesting a potential downside of 1.57%. Given Minerals Technologies’ higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Minerals Technologies is more favorable than DAQO New Energy.

Summary

Minerals Technologies beats DAQO New Energy on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Minerals Technologies

Minerals Technologies Inc. develops, produces, and markets various mineral, mineral-based, and related systems and services. The company operates through two segments, Consumer & Specialties, and Engineered Solutions segments. The Consumer & Specialties segment offers household and personal care products, such as pet litter, personal care, fabric care, edible oil and other fluid purification, animal health, and agricultural products; and specialty additives products, including precipitated calcium carbonate and ground calcium carbonate products that are used in the paper, paperboard, and fiber based packaging industries, as well as automotive, construction, and table and food applications. This segment produces limestone and dolomitic limestone used in construction, automotive, and consumer markets for packaging applications. The Engineered Solutions segment provides high-temperature technology products consisting of custom-blended mineral and non-mineral products for casting auto parts, farm and construction equipment, oil and gas production equipment, power generation turbine castings, and rail car components; and environmental and infrastructure products comprising geosynthetic clay lining systems, vapor intrusion mitigation products, sub surface waterproofing systems, green roofs, wastewater remediation, drinking water purification technologies, and drilling products. In addition, this segment provides chromite products; gunnable monolithic refractory products and application systems; monolithic refractory materials and pre-cast refractory shapes; refractory shapes and linings; carbon composite and pyrolitic graphite; and filtration and well testing services. It markets its products primarily through its direct sales force, as well as regional distributors. The company serves in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Minerals Technologies Inc. was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About DAQO New Energy

Daqo New Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells polysilicon to photovoltaic product manufacturers in the People's Republic of China. Its products are used in ingots, wafers, cells, and modules for solar power solutions. The company was formerly known as Mega Stand International Limited and changed its name to Daqo New Energy Corp. in August 2009. Daqo New Energy Corp. was founded in 2006 and is based in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China.