Financial Analysis: Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) and Croda International (OTCMKTS:COIHY)

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) and Croda International (OTCMKTS:COIHY) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, earnings and valuation.

Volatility & Risk

Green Plains has a beta of 1.22, meaning that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Croda International has a beta of 1.11, meaning that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Green Plains and Croda International, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Green Plains	1	5	2	0	2.13
Croda International	2	1	0	1	2.00

Green Plains currently has a consensus price target of $8.83, indicating a potential downside of 14.07%. Given Green Plains’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Green Plains is more favorable than Croda International.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Green Plains and Croda International”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Green Plains	$2.46 billion	0.27	-$82.50 million	($2.40)	-4.28
Croda International	$2.08 billion	2.45	$202.55 million	N/A	N/A

Croda International has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Green Plains.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.1% of Croda International shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Green Plains shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Green Plains and Croda International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Green Plains	-6.34%	-13.65%	-6.72%
Croda International	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Croda International beats Green Plains on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Green Plains

Green Plains Inc. produces low-carbon fuels in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Ethanol Production, Agribusiness and Energy Services, and Partnership. The Ethanol Production segment produces ethanol, distillers grains, and ultra-high protein and renewable corn oil. The Agribusiness and Energy Services segment engages in the grain procurement, handling and storage, commodity marketing business; and trading of ethanol, distiller grains, renewable corn oil, grain, natural gas, and other commodities in various markets. This segment also provides grain drying and storage services to grain producers. The Partnership segment offers fuel storage and transportation services. It operates 24 ethanol storage facilities; two fuel terminal facilities; and a fleet of approximately 2,180 leased railcars. The company was formerly known as Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. and changed its name to Green Plains Inc. in May 2014. Green Plains Inc. was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.

About Croda International

Croda International Plc engages in the consumer care, life science, and industrial specialty businesses in in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, Asia, and Latin America. The company offers speciality and active ingredients across beauty care, beauty actives, and home care products, as well as fragrances and flavours. It also provides biologics drug delivery, adjuvant systems, small molecule, protein, and nucleic acid delivery platforms, as well as purity materials for pharmaceutical formulations. In addition, the company offers crop protection and seed enhancement related solutions. Croda International Plc was incorporated in 1925 and is headquartered in Goole, the United Kingdom.