Reviewing Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC) and Brenntag (OTCMKTS:BNTGY)

Brenntag (OTCMKTS:BNTGY) and Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Brenntag and Oil-Dri Corporation Of America’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Brenntag	2.62%	9.19%	3.69%
Oil-Dri Corporation Of America	11.12%	22.36%	14.74%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

49.0% of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America shares are held by institutional investors. 11.7% of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Brenntag and Oil-Dri Corporation Of America”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Brenntag	$17.57 billion	0.45	$580.22 million	$0.64	17.05
Oil-Dri Corporation Of America	$485.57 million	1.67	$54.00 million	$3.70	14.94

Brenntag has higher revenue and earnings than Oil-Dri Corporation Of America. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Brenntag, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Brenntag and Oil-Dri Corporation Of America, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Brenntag	2	6	0	0	1.75
Oil-Dri Corporation Of America	0	0	1	0	3.00

Brenntag presently has a consensus target price of $12.80, suggesting a potential upside of 17.32%. Given Brenntag’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Brenntag is more favorable than Oil-Dri Corporation Of America.

Dividends

Brenntag pays an annual dividend of $0.27 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Brenntag pays out 42.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America pays out 19.5% 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. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America has increased its dividend for 11 consecutive years.

Volatility & Risk

Brenntag has a beta of 0.86, meaning that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Oil-Dri Corporation Of America has a beta of 0.68, meaning that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America beats Brenntag on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Brenntag

Brenntag SE purchases and supplies various industrial and specialty chemicals, and ingredients in Germany, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Brenntag Essentials and Brenntag Specialties. It provides just-in-time delivery, product mixing, blending, repackaging, inventory management, and drum return handling. The company serves customers in various end-market industries, including nutrition, pharma, personal care, water treatment, and lubricants; and home, industrial, and institutional markets, as well as coatings and constructions, polymers, and rubber industries. The company was founded in 1874 and is based in Essen, Germany.

About Oil-Dri Corporation Of America

Oil-Dri Corporation of America is a manufacturer and supplier of specialty sorbent products for the pet care, animal health and nutrition, fluids purification, agricultural ingredients, sports field, industrial and automotive markets. It operates through the Business to Business Products Group and Retail and Wholesale Products Group segments. The Business to Business Products Group segment’s customers include processors and refiners of edible oils, jet fuel and biofuel, manufacturers of animal feed and agricultural chemicals, distributors of animal health and nutrition products, and marketers of consumer products. The Retail and Wholesale Products Group segment customers include retailers of cat litter and related accessories such as mass merchandisers, drugstore chains, pet specialty retail outlets, dollar stores, retail grocery stores as well as distributors of industrial cleanup and automotive products, environmental service companies, and sports field product users. The company was founded by Nick Jaffee in 1941 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.