International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) and Mativ (NYSE:MATV) Financial Contrast

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for International Flavors & Fragrances and Mativ, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
International Flavors & Fragrances	2	4	13	0	2.58
Mativ	1	1	1	0	2.00

International Flavors & Fragrances currently has a consensus price target of $86.07, indicating a potential upside of 36.77%. Mativ has a consensus price target of $10.00, indicating a potential downside of 6.30%. Given International Flavors & Fragrances’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe International Flavors & Fragrances is more favorable than Mativ.

Volatility & Risk

International Flavors & Fragrances has a beta of 1.07, indicating that its share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mativ has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares International Flavors & Fragrances and Mativ”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
International Flavors & Fragrances	$11.30 billion	1.43	$243.00 million	($1.55)	-40.60
Mativ	$1.97 billion	0.30	-$48.70 million	($8.35)	-1.28

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

96.0% of International Flavors & Fragrances shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.9% of Mativ shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of International Flavors & Fragrances shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of Mativ shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

International Flavors & Fragrances pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Mativ pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. International Flavors & Fragrances pays out -103.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Mativ pays out -4.8% 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. Mativ has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Mativ is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares International Flavors & Fragrances and Mativ’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%
Mativ	-23.09%	4.12%	1.16%

Summary

International Flavors & Fragrances beats Mativ on 13 of the 17 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 Mativ

Mativ Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells specialty materials in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, the Americas, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Advanced Technical Materials and Fiber-Based Solutions. The Advanced Technical Materials manufactures and sells various engineered polymer, resin and fiber-based substrates, nets, films, adhesive tapes, and other nonwovens for the filtration, protective solutions, release liners, and healthcare end-markets. This segment sells its products directly, as well as through sales agents and distributors. The Fiber-Based Solutions segment produces packaging and specialty paper products. This segment provides premium packaging products that are used for wine, spirits and beer labels, folding cartons, box wrap, bags, hang tags, and stored value cards servicing retail, cosmetics, spirits, and electronics end-use markets; and premium papers, which are used in commercial printing services, advertising collateral, stationery, corporate identity packages and brochures, direct mail, business cards, and other uses. It also offers branded paper-based products for the consumer channel, such as bright papers, cardstock, stationery paper, envelopes, journals, and planners. This segment distributes its products through authorized paper distributors, converters, retailers, and specialty business converters, as well as directly to end-users. The company was formerly known as Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc. and changed its name to Mativ Holdings, Inc. in July 2022. Mativ Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia.