Comparing International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) & FUCHS (OTCMKTS:FUPBY)

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) and FUCHS (OTCMKTS:FUPBY) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, dividends and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares International Flavors & Fragrances and FUCHS’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
International Flavors & Fragrances	-3.48%	7.95%	3.97%
FUCHS	8.16%	15.56%	11.09%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares International Flavors & Fragrances and FUCHS”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
International Flavors & Fragrances	$11.48 billion	1.45	$243.00 million	($1.55)	-41.89
FUCHS	$3.81 billion	1.65	$326.79 million	$0.61	18.57

FUCHS has lower revenue, but higher earnings than International Flavors & Fragrances. International Flavors & Fragrances is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than FUCHS, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

96.0% of International Flavors & Fragrances shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of International Flavors & Fragrances shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for International Flavors & Fragrances and FUCHS, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
International Flavors & Fragrances	2	4	13	0	2.58
FUCHS	1	0	0	0	1.00

International Flavors & Fragrances presently has a consensus price target of $86.07, suggesting a potential upside of 32.56%. Given International Flavors & Fragrances’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe International Flavors & Fragrances is more favorable than FUCHS.

Volatility and Risk

International Flavors & Fragrances has a beta of 1.07, suggesting that its share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FUCHS has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

International Flavors & Fragrances pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. FUCHS pays an annual dividend of $0.17 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. International Flavors & Fragrances pays out -103.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. FUCHS pays out 27.9% 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. International Flavors & Fragrances is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

International Flavors & Fragrances beats FUCHS on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. engages in the manufacture and supply of flavors and fragrances used in the food, beverage, personal care, and household products industries. It operates through the following segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent and Pharma Solutions. The Nourish segment consists of legacy Taste segment combined with N&B’s Food & Beverage division and the food protection business of N&B’s Health & Biosciences division. The Health & Biosciences business consists of a biotechnology-driven portfolio of enzymes, food cultures, probiotics and specialty ingredients for food, home and personal care, and health and wellness applications. The Scent business creates fragrance compounds, fragrance ingredients and cosmetic ingredients that are integral elements in the world’s finest perfumes and best-known household and personal care products. The Pharma Solutions business produces a vast portfolio including cellulosics and seaweed-based pharma excipients, used to improve the functionality and delivery of active pharmaceutical ingredients, including controlled or modified drug release formulations, and enabling. The company was founded in 1833 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

About FUCHS

Fuchs SE develops, produces, and sells lubricants and related specialties in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and North and South America. The company offers automotive lubricants, such as biodegradable lubricants, central and mobile hydraulic oils, dry coatings, engine and gear oils, motorcycle/two wheelers, and service fluids, as well as various oils for agriculture sector. It also provides industrial lubricants, including chain lubricants, dry coatings, gear and hydraulic oils, machine oils, open gear lubricants, rapidly biodegradable lubricants, compressor and refrigeration oils, release agents, slideways oils, fluids and industrial oils, textile machine oils, and turbine oils. In addition, the company offers lubricating greases comprising assembly pastes, biodegradable greases, food grade greases, multi-purpose/long-life greases, pastes for extreme temperatures, perfluorinated pastes, and wheel bearing greases, as well as gear boxes, and greases for central lubricating system, extreme temperature, machine tools, plain and roller bearings, rail vehicles, spray cans or rattle cans, and solid lubricants. Further, it provides metal processing lubricants consisting of cleaners, corrosion preventives, cutting and grinding, forming lubricants, and quenching oils; and special application lubricants for application equipment, chain lubrication, dry coatings, food and beverage, gears, sugar processing, railway traffic, plain and roller bearings, glass manufacturing process, hot forming, maintenance, open gears, pastes, release agents, other specialties, special greases, and wind power plants. Additionally, the company offers open gear and surface coating services. The company was formerly known as Fuchs Petrolub SE and changed its name to Fuchs SE in July 2023. Fuchs SE was founded in 1931 and is headquartered in Mannheim, Germany.