Contrasting Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) & Kiwa Bio-Tech Products Group (OTCMKTS:KWBT)

Kiwa Bio-Tech Products Group (OTCMKTS:KWBT) and Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Kiwa Bio-Tech Products Group and Methanex, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kiwa Bio-Tech Products Group	0	0	0	0	0.00
Methanex	0	2	5	1	2.88

Methanex has a consensus price target of $44.88, suggesting a potential upside of 16.23%. Given Methanex’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Methanex is more favorable than Kiwa Bio-Tech Products Group.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

73.5% of Methanex shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of Kiwa Bio-Tech Products Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Methanex shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Kiwa Bio-Tech Products Group and Methanex’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kiwa Bio-Tech Products Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
Methanex	7.02%	12.61%	4.66%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Kiwa Bio-Tech Products Group and Methanex”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kiwa Bio-Tech Products Group	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Methanex	$3.72 billion	0.80	$163.99 million	$3.39	11.39

Methanex has higher revenue and earnings than Kiwa Bio-Tech Products Group.

Summary

Methanex beats Kiwa Bio-Tech Products Group on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Kiwa Bio-Tech Products Group

Kiwa Bio-Tech Products Group Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes bio-technological products for the agricultural market primarily in the People's Republic of China. It offers bacillus species and/or photosynthetic bacteria based biological organic, compound microbial, bio-water soluble, and microbial inoculum fertilizers. The company has a strategic cooperation agreements with the Beijing Zhongpin Agricultural Science and Technology Development Center; China Academy of Agricultural Science's Institute of Agricultural Resources & Regional Planning; and Institute of Agricultural Economy & Development, as well as Kiwa Bio-Tech (Yangling) Co. Ltd. Kiwa Bio-Tech Products Group Corporation was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Yangling, China.

About Methanex

Methanex Corporation produces and supplies methanol in China, Europe, the United States, South America, South Korea, Canada, and Asia. The company also purchases methanol produced by others under methanol offtake contracts and on the spot market. In addition, it owns and leases storage and terminal facilities. The company owns and manages a fleet of approximately 30 ocean-going vessels. It serves chemical and petrochemical producers. Methanex Corporation was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.