DuPont de Nemours (NYSE:DD) versus Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Critical Survey

DuPont de Nemours (NYSE:DD) and Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares DuPont de Nemours and Methanex’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
DuPont de Nemours	-7.03%	7.37%	4.69%
Methanex	2.21%	5.35%	2.03%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares DuPont de Nemours and Methanex”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
DuPont de Nemours	$6.85 billion	2.81	-$779.00 million	($1.86)	-25.34
Methanex	$3.59 billion	1.29	$79.88 million	$1.13	52.88

Methanex has lower revenue, but higher earnings than DuPont de Nemours. DuPont de Nemours is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Methanex, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

DuPont de Nemours has a beta of 1.09, indicating that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Methanex has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for DuPont de Nemours and Methanex, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
DuPont de Nemours	1	3	12	1	2.76
Methanex	1	4	6	1	2.58

DuPont de Nemours presently has a consensus target price of $51.66, indicating a potential upside of 9.60%. Methanex has a consensus target price of $55.50, indicating a potential downside of 7.11%. Given DuPont de Nemours’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe DuPont de Nemours is more favorable than Methanex.

Dividends

DuPont de Nemours pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Methanex pays an annual dividend of $0.74 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. DuPont de Nemours pays out -43.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Methanex pays out 65.5% 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. Methanex has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years. DuPont de Nemours is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

74.0% of DuPont de Nemours shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.5% of Methanex shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of DuPont de Nemours shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Methanex shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

DuPont de Nemours beats Methanex on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About DuPont de Nemours

DuPont de Nemours, Inc. provides technology-based materials and solutions in the United States, Canada, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates through Electronics & Industrial, Water & Protection, and Corporate & Other segments. The Electronics & Industrial segment supplies materials and solutions for the fabrication of semiconductors and integrated circuits. This segment also provides semiconductor and advanced packaging materials; dielectric and metallization solutions for chip packaging; and silicones for light emitting diode packaging and semiconductor applications; permanent and process chemistries for the fabrication of printed circuit boards to include laminates and substrates, and electroless and electrolytic metallization solutions, and electromagnetic shielding and thermal management solutions, as well as patterning solutions, and materials and metallization processes for metal finishing, decorative, and industrial applications. In addition, it offers various materials to manufacture rigid and flexible displays for organic light emitting diode, and other display applications; provides high performance parts, and specialty silicone elastomers, and lubricants to automotive, aerospace, electronics, industrial, and healthcare markets; and photopolymer plates and platemaking systems used in flexographic printing, and digital inks for textile, commercial, and home-office printing applications. The Water & Protection segment provides engineered products and integrated systems for worker safety, water purification and separation, transportation, energy, medical packaging and building materials. The Corporate & Other segment offers auto adhesives and fluids; Multibase; and Tedlar products. The company was formerly known as DowDuPont Inc. and changed its name to DuPont de Nemours, Inc. in June 2019. DuPont de Nemours, Inc. was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware.

About Methanex

Methanex Corporation produces and supplies methanol in China, Europe, the United States, South America, South Korea, Canada, and Asia. The company also purchases methanol produced by others under methanol offtake contracts and on the spot market. In addition, it owns and leases storage and terminal facilities. The company owns and manages a fleet of approximately 30 ocean-going vessels. It serves chemical and petrochemical producers. Methanex Corporation was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.