NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) and Nissan Chemical (OTCMKTS:NNCHY) Financial Survey

Nissan Chemical (OTCMKTS:NNCHY) and NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) are both mid-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Nissan Chemical and NewMarket, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nissan Chemical	0	0	0	0	0.00
NewMarket	0	0	1	0	3.00

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Nissan Chemical and NewMarket”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nissan Chemical	$1.65 billion	2.91	$284.08 million	$2.24	15.82
NewMarket	$2.79 billion	2.45	$462.41 million	$47.33	15.37

NewMarket has higher revenue and earnings than Nissan Chemical. NewMarket is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Nissan Chemical, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

61.1% of NewMarket shares are held by institutional investors. 19.1% of NewMarket shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Nissan Chemical and NewMarket’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nissan Chemical	17.25%	19.00%	13.59%
NewMarket	16.33%	28.53%	14.02%

Risk & Volatility

Nissan Chemical has a beta of -0.19, suggesting that its share price is 119% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NewMarket has a beta of 0.49, suggesting that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Nissan Chemical pays an annual dividend of $0.57 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. NewMarket pays an annual dividend of $12.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Nissan Chemical pays out 25.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. NewMarket pays out 25.4% 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. NewMarket has raised its dividend for 7 consecutive years. NewMarket is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

NewMarket beats Nissan Chemical on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nissan Chemical

Nissan Chemical Corporation engages in the chemicals, performance materials, agricultural chemicals, and pharmaceuticals businesses in Japan and internationally. The company provides high purity chemicals; AdBlue, an urea solution; ammonia, sulfuric, and nitric acid, as well as concrete and civil engineering-related products; TEPIC, an epoxy compound; Melamine Cyanurate, a salt of melamine and iso cyanuric acid; TEPIC-VL, a liquid epoxy compound; TEPIC-FL, a liquid epoxy material; FOLDI-E101, an epoxy reactive diluent; Ecopromote, a nucleating agents for PLA; Nissan Reishi, a health food; phenylphosphonic acid; HI-LITE, a chlorinated isocyanulate; OPTBEADS, a melamine-formaldehyde resin and silica; and FINEOXOCOL, a saturated fatty alcohol and acid. It also offers performance materials comprising display, semiconductor, and inorganic materials; agricultural chemicals, such as herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, etc. for use on agricultural land, as well as in golf courses and parks; and drug substances for antiparasite drugs for animals. In addition, the company provides pharmaceutical products, such as LIVALO, a antihypercholesterolemic agent; LANDEL and FINTE, a long-acting calcium channel blocker; APIs and intermediaries; and manufacturing and process researching services for pharmaceutical ingredients. Further, it develops healthcare, information and communication materials, and environmental and energy materials. The company was formerly known as Nissan Chemical Industries, Ltd. and changed its name to Nissan Chemical Corporation in July 2018. Nissan Chemical Corporation was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About NewMarket

NewMarket Corporation, through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the manufacture and sale of petroleum additives. The company offers lubricant additives for use in various vehicle and industrial applications, including engine oils, transmission fluids, off-road powertrain and hydraulic systems, gear oils, hydraulic oils, turbine oils, and other applications where metal-to-metal moving parts are utilized; engine oil additives designed for passenger cars, motorcycles, on and off-road heavy duty commercial equipment, locomotives, and engines in ocean-going vessels; driveline additives designed for products, such as transmission fluids, axle fluids, and off-road powertrain fluids; and industrial additives designed for products for industrial applications consisting of hydraulic fluids, grease, industrial gear fluids, and industrial specialty applications, such as turbine oils. It also provides fuel additives that are used to enhance the oil refining process and the performance of gasoline, diesel, biofuels, and other fuels to industry, government, original equipment manufacturers, and individual customers. In addition, the company engages in the marketing of antiknock compounds, as well as contracted manufacturing and services activities; and owns and manages a real property in Virginia. It operates in North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India. NewMarket Corporation was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.