Head-To-Head Review: Givaudan (OTCMKTS:GVDNY) versus American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD)

Givaudan (OTCMKTS:GVDNY) and American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Givaudan and American Vanguard, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Givaudan	0	0	2	2	3.50
American Vanguard	1	0	1	0	2.00

American Vanguard has a consensus target price of $12.00, indicating a potential upside of 157.51%. Given American Vanguard’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe American Vanguard is more favorable than Givaudan.

Profitability

This table compares Givaudan and American Vanguard’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Givaudan	N/A	N/A	N/A
American Vanguard	-23.72%	-26.21%	-9.97%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.0% of Givaudan shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.0% of American Vanguard shares are held by institutional investors. 7.6% of American Vanguard shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Givaudan and American Vanguard”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Givaudan	$8.42 billion	4.62	$1.24 billion	N/A	N/A
American Vanguard	$530.07 million	0.25	-$126.34 million	($3.98)	-1.17

Givaudan has higher revenue and earnings than American Vanguard.

Volatility & Risk

Givaudan has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Vanguard has a beta of 1.26, indicating that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Givaudan pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. American Vanguard pays an annual dividend of $0.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. American Vanguard pays out -0.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

Givaudan beats American Vanguard on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Givaudan

Givaudan SA manufactures, supplies, and sells fragrance, beauty, taste, and wellbeing products to the consumer goods industry. The company operates through divisions, Fragrance & Beauty, and Taste & Wellbeing. The Fragrance & Beauty division offers fine fragrances; consumer products, such as personal, home, fabric, and oral care; fragrance ingredients; and active beauty products. The Taste & Wellbeing division provides beverages, such as fizzy drinks, bottled waters, ready-to-drink juices, alcoholic beverages, and others; dairy and cheese products, including dairy drinks, yoghurt, ice cream, chilled desserts, cream cheese, and spreads; snacks; givaudan flavour ingredients; savory, and supplements and nutraceutical products; and biscuits, crackers, and cereals, as well as confectionery products, such as chewing gums, chocolates, and sweets. It operates in Switzerland, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, North America, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. Givaudan SA was founded in 1796 and is headquartered in Vernier, Switzerland.

About American Vanguard

American Vanguard Corporation, through its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and markets specialty chemicals for agricultural, commercial, and consumer uses in the United States and internationally. It manufactures and formulates chemicals, including insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, soil health, plant nutrition, molluscicides, growth regulators, soil fumigants, and biorationals in liquid, powder, and granular forms for crops, turf and ornamental plants, and human and animal health protection. The company also markets, sells, and distributes end-use chemical and biological products for crop applications; and distributes chemicals for turf and ornamental markets. It distributes its products through national distribution companies, and buying groups or co-operatives; and through sales offices, sales force executives, sales agents, and wholly owned distributors. American Vanguard Corporation was incorporated in 1969 and is headquartered in Newport Beach, California.