Akzo Nobel (OTCMKTS:AKZOY) & Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Head to Head Survey

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) and Akzo Nobel (OTCMKTS:AKZOY) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings and risk.

Dividends

Eastman Chemical pays an annual dividend of $3.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. Akzo Nobel pays an annual dividend of $0.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Eastman Chemical pays out 56.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Akzo Nobel pays out 250.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Eastman Chemical has raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years. Eastman Chemical is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Eastman Chemical and Akzo Nobel”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Eastman Chemical	$9.38 billion	0.77	$905.00 million	$5.99	10.63
Akzo Nobel	$11.59 billion	1.02	$586.50 million	$0.10	231.10

Eastman Chemical has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Akzo Nobel. Eastman Chemical is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Akzo Nobel, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

83.7% of Eastman Chemical shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.4% of Akzo Nobel shares are held by institutional investors. 2.4% of Eastman Chemical shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Eastman Chemical has a beta of 1.24, indicating that its stock price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Akzo Nobel has a beta of 1.1, indicating that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Eastman Chemical and Akzo Nobel’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Eastman Chemical	7.75%	12.89%	5.03%
Akzo Nobel	0.53%	13.69%	4.35%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Eastman Chemical and Akzo Nobel, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Eastman Chemical	0	7	7	0	2.50
Akzo Nobel	0	2	2	1	2.80

Eastman Chemical currently has a consensus price target of $78.77, indicating a potential upside of 23.70%. Given Eastman Chemical’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Eastman Chemical is more favorable than Akzo Nobel.

Summary

Eastman Chemical beats Akzo Nobel on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Eastman Chemical

Eastman Chemical Company operates as a specialty materials company in the United States, China, and internationally. The company's Additives & Functional Products segment offers amine derivative-based building blocks, intermediates for surfactants, metam-based soil fumigants, and organic acid-based solutions; specialty coalescent and solvents, paint additives, and specialty polymers; and heat transfer and aviation fluids. It serves transportation, personal care, wellness, food, feed, agriculture, building and construction, water treatment, energy, consumables, durables, and electronics markets. Its Advanced Materials segment provides copolyesters, cellulosic biopolymers, cellulose esters, polyvinyl butyral sheets, and window and protective films for value-added end uses in the transportation, durables, electronics, building and construction, medical and pharma, and consumables markets. The company's Chemical Intermediates segment offers olefin and acetyl derivatives, ethylene, and commodity solvents; and primary non-phthalate and phthalate plasticizers, and niche non-phthalate plasticizers for industrial chemicals and processing, building and construction, health and wellness, and food and feed. Its Fibers segment provides cellulose acetate tow, triacetin, cellulose acetate flake, acetic acid, and acetic anhydride for use in filtration media primarily cigarette filters; natural and solution dyed acetate yarns, and staple fiber for use in consumables, and health and wellness markets; and wet-laid nonwoven media, specialty and engineered papers, and cellulose acetate fibers for transportation, industrial, agriculture and mining, and aerospace markets. The company was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee.

About Akzo Nobel

Akzo Nobel N.V. engages in the production and sale of paints and coatings worldwide. The company operates through two segments: Decorative Paints and Performance Coatings. It offers decorative paints, including paints, lacquers, and varnishes; and a range of mixing machines and color concepts for the building and renovation industry, as well as specialty coatings. The company also provides performance coatings that protect and enhance ships, cars, aircraft, yachts, architectural components, consumer goods, and oil and gas facilities. It offers its products under AkzoNobel, Alabastine, Alba, Andercol, Apla, Armstead Trade, Astral, Astral Batiment, AwlGrip, Brikol, Dulux, Bruguer, Cetabever, Cetol, Chemcraft, Colourland Paints, CONSOLAN, Coral, Cromadex, Cuprinol, Dynacoat, Flexa, Glitsa, Grip-Gard, Herbol, Hammerite, International, Interlux, Innenweis, Interpon, Inca, Luxol, Levis, Lesonal, Molto, Modern Classikk, Maxilite, Mauvilac, Mason CT, Marshall, Mactra, Nordsjo, Oxirite, Protecto, Procolor, Polyfilla, Polycell, Pinotex, Pintuco, Resicoat, Relest, Sparlack, Sadolin, Sikkens, Sea Hawk, Savana, Salcomix, Trimetal, Titanlux, Taubmans, U-tech, Vpowdertech, Vivechrom, Xylazel, Xyladecor, Wanda, and Zweihorn brands. The company serves to energy, packaging, infrastructure, and shipbuilding and maintenance industries, as well as general industries, such as agricultural and construction equipment, construction-related steel, metal fabrication, pipes, appliances, and transportation. The company was formerly known as Akzo NV and changed its name to Akzo Nobel N.V. in 1994. Akzo Nobel N.V. was founded in 1646 and is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.