Head to Head Contrast: Orion (NYSE:OEC) versus Linde (NASDAQ:LIN)

Orion (NYSE:OEC) and Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Volatility and Risk

Orion has a beta of 1.05, meaning that its share price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Linde has a beta of 0.95, meaning that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Orion and Linde’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Orion	0.82%	16.67%	4.00%
Linde	20.20%	19.09%	9.19%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Orion and Linde”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Orion	$1.88 billion	0.30	$44.20 million	$0.27	37.61
Linde	$33.01 billion	6.72	$6.57 billion	$14.06	33.62

Linde has higher revenue and earnings than Orion. Linde is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Orion, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

94.3% of Orion shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.8% of Linde shares are held by institutional investors. 2.7% of Orion shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Linde shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Orion pays an annual dividend of $0.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Linde pays an annual dividend of $6.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Orion pays out 29.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Linde pays out 42.7% 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. Linde has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Linde is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Orion and Linde, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Orion	2	1	1	0	1.75
Linde	0	2	7	2	3.00

Orion presently has a consensus target price of $12.00, indicating a potential upside of 18.17%. Linde has a consensus target price of $519.63, indicating a potential upside of 9.93%. Given Orion’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Orion is more favorable than Linde.

Summary

Linde beats Orion on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Orion

Orion S.A., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of carbon black products. It operates in two segments, Specialty Carbon Black and Rubber Carbon Black. The company offers post-treated specialty carbon black grades for coatings and printing applications; high purity carbon black grades for the fiber industry; and conductive carbon black grades for batteries, polymers, and coatings. It also provides rubber carbon black products for applications in mechanical rubber goods, as well as in tires under the ECORAX brand name; and acetylene-based conductive additives for lithium-ion batteries and other applications. It operates in the United States, Brazil, rest of the Americas, Germany, South Africa, Italy, Spain, Turkey, France, Rest of EMEA, China, the Republic of Korea, and rest of Asia. The company was formerly known as Orion Engineered Carbons S.A. and changed its name to Orion S.A. in June 2023. Orion S.A. was founded in 1862 and is headquartered in Senningerberg, Luxembourg.

About Linde

Linde plc operates as an industrial gas company in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and South Pacific. It offers atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and rare gases; and process gases, such as carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen, electronic gases, specialty gases, and acetylene. The company also designs and constructs turnkey process plants for third-party customers, as well as for the gas businesses in various locations, such as air separation, hydrogen, synthesis, olefin, and natural gas plants. It serves a range of industries, including healthcare, chemicals and energy, manufacturing, metals and mining, food and beverage, and electronics. The company was founded in 1879 and is based in Woking, the United Kingdom.