Head-To-Head Analysis: Orica (OTCMKTS:OCLDF) and Neo Performance Materials (OTCMKTS:NOPMF)

Orica (OTCMKTS:OCLDF) and Neo Performance Materials (OTCMKTS:NOPMF) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Orica and Neo Performance Materials’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Orica	N/A	N/A	N/A
Neo Performance Materials	-1.30%	3.71%	2.32%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Orica and Neo Performance Materials”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Orica	N/A	N/A	N/A	$1.63	9.13
Neo Performance Materials	$475.83 million	1.26	-$12.95 million	($0.17)	-84.82

Orica has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Neo Performance Materials. Neo Performance Materials is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Orica, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Orica and Neo Performance Materials, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Orica	0	0	0	0	0.00
Neo Performance Materials	0	1	0	0	2.00

Institutional and Insider Ownership

37.5% of Orica shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Orica pays an annual dividend of $0.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Neo Performance Materials pays an annual dividend of $0.29 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Orica pays out 9.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Neo Performance Materials pays out -170.6% 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. Neo Performance Materials is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Neo Performance Materials beats Orica on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Orica

Orica Limited manufactures, distributes, and sells commercial blasting systems, mining and tunnelling support systems, and various chemical products and services in Australia, Peru, the United States, and internationally. The company provides 4D bulk explosives systems, packaged explosives, initiating systems, boosters, and seismic explosive ranges; technical services and solutions; and supplementary services. It also offers automation solutions, including Avatel, a machine equipped with underground development charging system; and secondary breakage and hang up blasting, a tele-remote blasting solution. In addition, the company provides mining chemical products, such as cyanide sparges, emulsifiers, and sodium cyanide, as well as PRO services; digitally enabled benchmarks and insights at various stages of the blasting process; and nitrogen fertilizers, which includes urea ammonium nitrate and ammonia. Further, it offers resources to explore the use of chemical energy in blasting, blasting fundamentals, and properties of explosives and blasting principles; training courses; and geotechnical deformation and convergence monitoring solutions. Additionally, the company provides digital solutions, including MonitorIQ, an advanced processing and analytic software; BlastIQ, BlastVision, FRAGTrack, GroundProbe, RGR-Velox, LOADPlus, RHINO, DRILLMax, DRILLHub, WIREBmr, Axis mining technology, SHOTPlus, OREPro 3D Predict, Fortis Protect, Senatel, Exel Neo, Cyclo, and Bulkmaster. The company serves surface coal, surface metal, iron ore, quarrying, underground mining and construction, construction, civil infrastructure, oil and gas, and agriculture markets. Orica Limited was founded in 1874 and is headquartered in East Melbourne, Australia.

About Neo Performance Materials

Neo Performance Materials Inc. engages in the manufacture and sale of rare earth, magnetic powders, magnets, and rare metal-based functional materials in Canada and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Magnequench, Chemicals and Oxides, and Rare Metals. The Magnequench segment produces magnetic powders that are used in bonded and hot deformed fully dense neodymium-iron-boron magnets; and bonded magnets. Its powders are used in the production of bonded permanent magnets that are components in automotive motors, pumps, micro motors, traction motors, sensors, and other applications. The Chemicals and Oxides segments manufactures and distributes a range of industrial materials for use in auto catalysts, consumer electronics, petroleum refining, hybrid and electric vehicles, and municipal and industrial wastewater treatment applications. The Rare Metals segment sources, produces, reclaims, refines, and markets high-temperature metals that include tantalum, niobium, hafnium, and rhenium; and electronic metals, such as gallium and indium for jet engines, medical imaging, wireless technologies, and LED lightings, as well as flat panel displays, solar, steel additives, batteries, and electronic applications. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.