Reviewing Sumitomo Chemcl (OTCMKTS:SOMMY) & Asahi Kasei (OTCMKTS:AHKSY)

Sumitomo Chemcl (OTCMKTS:SOMMY) and Asahi Kasei (OTCMKTS:AHKSY) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Sumitomo Chemcl and Asahi Kasei’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sumitomo Chemcl	4.01%	8.40%	2.82%
Asahi Kasei	5.14%	8.26%	4.01%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Sumitomo Chemcl and Asahi Kasei, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sumitomo Chemcl	0	1	0	0	2.00
Asahi Kasei	0	1	0	2	3.33

Dividends

Sumitomo Chemcl pays an annual dividend of $0.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Asahi Kasei pays an annual dividend of $0.31 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Sumitomo Chemcl pays out 13.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Asahi Kasei pays out 20.3% 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. Sumitomo Chemcl is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Sumitomo Chemcl and Asahi Kasei”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sumitomo Chemcl	$17.12 billion	0.31	$254.70 million	$1.96	8.13
Asahi Kasei	$19.95 billion	0.67	$890.97 million	$1.53	12.51

Asahi Kasei has higher revenue and earnings than Sumitomo Chemcl. Sumitomo Chemcl is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Asahi Kasei, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Sumitomo Chemcl has a beta of 0.28, meaning that its stock price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Asahi Kasei has a beta of 0.47, meaning that its stock price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Asahi Kasei beats Sumitomo Chemcl on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sumitomo Chemcl

Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited engages in Chemicals & Plastics, energy and functional materials, IT-related chemicals, health and crop sciences, pharmaceuticals, and other businesses worldwide. Its Essential Chemicals & Plastics segment offers synthetic resins, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, and polymethyl methacrylate resins; raw materials for synthetic fibers; and various industrial chemicals. The company's Energy & Functional Materials segment provides alumina and aluminum products used for energy products; resorcinol for tires, wood adhesives, flame retardants, and ultraviolet ray absorbants; polymer additives and rubber chemicals; synthetic rubber for tires, shoes, construction materials, and other applications; and engineering plastics and lithium-ion secondary battery materials for use in electronic components and next-generation vehicles. Its IT-Related Chemicals segment provides polarizing films, touch screen sensor panels, and color resists and polymer OLED for LC and OLED displays; photoresists and high-purity chemicals for the semiconductor manufacturing process; and compound semiconductor materials for antenna switches and other components of communication terminal equipment. The company's Health & Crop Sciences segment offers crop protection chemicals, fertilizers, feed additives, and household insecticides; active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates; and products to control infectious diseases. Its Pharmaceuticals segment provides prescription and diagnostic pharmaceuticals. The company's Others segment supplies electric power and steam; designs, constructs, and supervises chemical plants; provides transportation and warehousing services; and conducts physical property and environmental analysis. Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited was founded in 1913 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Asahi Kasei

Asahi Kasei Corporation manufactures and sells chemicals. It offers caustic soda, chemical fertilizers, nitric acid, ammonia, acrylonitrile, methyl methacrylate, styrene, adipic acid, hexamethylene diamine, AH salt, propionitrile, sodium cyanide, acetonitrile, methacrylonitrile, cyclohexyl methacrylate, polyethylenes, polyethylenes powder, PMMA resin, polystyrene, polybutadiene rubbers, styrene/butadiene rubbers, clear styrenic copolymer, styrenic thermoplastic elastomer, hydrogenated styrenic elastomers, membranes and systems, functional materials, foams, purging compound, polyisocyanates, polycarbonatediol, aluminum paste, latex, photopolymers and platemaking systems, films, cyclohexanol, cyclohexane, and cyclohexene. The company also offers lithium-ion battery and lead-acid battery separators, plastic optical fibers, artificial suede, nylon 66 filament, polyamide 66, polyacetal, polyphenyene ether, polypropylene compounds, 3D cubic knitted fabric, noise suppression sheets, audio devices, photosensitive polyimide/PBO precursor, latent hardeners, glass fabrics, specialty products, explosion-bonded metal clads, lining fabrics, cupro and stretch fibers, oil-water separators, cellulose nanobeads, and flame-resistant and synthetic fiber; magnetic, current, and gas sensors; deodorizing, spunbond, cupro, multifunctional, and heat-press formable thermoplastic nonwoven; and ecorise, biocradle, and bemliese products. It provides bags and containers; cooking products; cleaners; plastic packet cutting products; cyclohexyl methacrylate, bonded anchors, and microcrystalline cellulose; pharmaceuticals and diagnostic reagents, dialyzers, therapeutic apheresis, virus removal filters, defibrillators, AEDs, automated CPRs, fluid resuscitation pumps, wearable defibrillators, temperature management systems, and data solutions; construction materials; and remodeling services, as well as develops homes and apartments. The company was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.