Comparing Fortescue (OTCMKTS:FSUGY) and Materion (NYSE:MTRN)

Fortescue (OTCMKTS:FSUGY) and Materion (NYSE:MTRN) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Fortescue and Materion”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fortescue	$15.54 billion	2.83	$3.37 billion	N/A	N/A
Materion	$1.79 billion	1.73	$74.82 million	$3.59	41.49

Fortescue has higher revenue and earnings than Materion.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Fortescue and Materion, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fortescue	3	2	0	1	1.83
Materion	0	2	2	0	2.50

Materion has a consensus target price of $170.00, suggesting a potential upside of 14.14%. Given Materion’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Materion is more favorable than Fortescue.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

93.6% of Materion shares are held by institutional investors. 2.6% of Materion shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Fortescue and Materion’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fortescue	N/A	N/A	N/A
Materion	4.19%	12.36%	6.41%

Dividends

Fortescue pays an annual dividend of $1.66 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.8%. Materion pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Materion pays out 15.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Materion has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years.

Volatility & Risk

Fortescue has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Materion has a beta of 0.91, meaning that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Materion beats Fortescue on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fortescue

Fortescue Ltd engages in the exploration, development, production, processing, and sale of iron ore in Australia, China, and internationally. It explores for copper, gold, and lithium deposits; and rare earth elements. The company provides port towage services; owns and operates rail and port facilities; and focuses on producing green energy and green hydrogen, including derivatives comprising green ammonia. The company was formerly known as Fortescue Metals Group Limited and changed its name to Fortescue Ltd in November 2023. Fortescue Ltd was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in East Perth, Australia.

About Materion

Materion Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, produces advanced engineered materials used in semiconductor, industrial, aerospace and defense, automotive, energy, consumer electronics, and telecom and data center in the United States, Asia, Europe, and internationally. The company operates in four segments: Performance Materials, Electronic Materials, Precision Optics, and Other. The company provides advanced engineered solutions comprising beryllium and non-beryllium containing alloy systems and custom engineered parts in strip, bulk, rod, plate, bar, tube, and other customized shapes; engineering and product development services; alloyed metals, beryllium products, and beryllium hydroxide; precision strip, rod, and wire products, as well as engineered strip metal products; and ToughMet alloys and SupremEX aluminum silicon carbide metal matrix composite formulation products. It operates the bertrandite ore mine and refinery located in Utah that provides feedstock hydroxide for its beryllium businesses and external sale. In addition, it produces advanced chemicals, microelectronics packaging, precious metal, non-precious metal, and specialty metal products, including vapor deposition targets, frame lid assemblies, clad and precious metal pre-forms, high temperature braze materials, and ultra-pure wire. Further, the company designs and produces precision thin film coatings, optical filters, and assemblies. The company sells its products directly from its facilities, as well as through company-owned service centers, outside distributors, agents, direct sales offices, and independent sales representatives. The company was formerly known as Brush Engineered Materials Inc. and changed its name to Materion Corporation in March 2011. Materion Corporation was founded in 1921 and is headquartered in Mayfield Heights, Ohio.