Head-To-Head Comparison: International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) versus Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT)

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) and Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, institutional ownership and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for International Flavors & Fragrances and Ingevity, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
International Flavors & Fragrances	1	3	13	0	2.71
Ingevity	1	2	1	0	2.00

International Flavors & Fragrances currently has a consensus price target of $91.17, suggesting a potential upside of 14.12%. Ingevity has a consensus price target of $67.50, suggesting a potential downside of 3.39%. Given International Flavors & Fragrances’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe International Flavors & Fragrances is more favorable than Ingevity.

Profitability

This table compares International Flavors & Fragrances and Ingevity’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
International Flavors & Fragrances	-3.20%	7.67%	4.07%
Ingevity	-5.14%	103.69%	9.17%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares International Flavors & Fragrances and Ingevity”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
International Flavors & Fragrances	$10.89 billion	1.88	-$374.00 million	($1.37)	-58.31
Ingevity	$1.41 billion	1.79	-$430.30 million	($1.82)	-38.39

International Flavors & Fragrances has higher revenue and earnings than Ingevity. International Flavors & Fragrances is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ingevity, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

96.0% of International Flavors & Fragrances shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ingevity shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of International Flavors & Fragrances shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Ingevity shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

International Flavors & Fragrances has a beta of 1.05, indicating that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ingevity has a beta of 1.34, indicating that its stock price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

International Flavors & Fragrances beats Ingevity on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. engages in the manufacture and supply of flavors and fragrances used in the food, beverage, personal care, and household products industries. It operates through the following segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent and Pharma Solutions. The Nourish segment consists of legacy Taste segment combined with N&B’s Food & Beverage division and the food protection business of N&B’s Health & Biosciences division. The Health & Biosciences business consists of a biotechnology-driven portfolio of enzymes, food cultures, probiotics and specialty ingredients for food, home and personal care, and health and wellness applications. The Scent business creates fragrance compounds, fragrance ingredients and cosmetic ingredients that are integral elements in the world’s finest perfumes and best-known household and personal care products. The Pharma Solutions business produces a vast portfolio including cellulosics and seaweed-based pharma excipients, used to improve the functionality and delivery of active pharmaceutical ingredients, including controlled or modified drug release formulations, and enabling. The company was founded in 1833 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

About Ingevity

Ingevity Corporation manufactures and sells activated carbon products, derivative specialty chemicals, and engineered polymers in North America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and South America. It operates through three segments: Performance Materials, Performance Chemicals, and Advanced Polymer Technologies. The Performance Materials segment engineers, manufactures, and sells hardwood-based and chemically activated carbon products for use in gasoline vapor emission control systems in cars, motorcycles, trucks, and boats. This segment also produces other activated carbon products for food, water, beverage, and chemical purification applications. The Performance Chemicals segment consists of road technologies and industrial specialties. This segment's products are used in pavement construction, pavement preservation, pavement reconstruction and recycling, road markings, agrochemical dispersants, paper chemicals, and other industrial uses. The Advanced Polymer Technologies segment produces caprolactone and caprolactone-based specialty polymers for use in coatings, resins, elastomers, adhesives, bioplastics, and medical devices. It serves automotive parts and components manufacturers through sales representatives and distributors. The company was formerly known as WestRock Company, Specialty Chemicals Business and changed its name to Ingevity Corporation in September 2015. Ingevity Corporation was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in North Charleston, South Carolina.