Head to Head Comparison: Icahn Enterprises (NASDAQ:IEP) vs. Marubeni (OTCMKTS:MARUY)

Marubeni (OTCMKTS:MARUY) and Icahn Enterprises (NASDAQ:IEP) are both multi-sector conglomerates companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Marubeni and Icahn Enterprises’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Marubeni	6.21%	12.96%	5.46%
Icahn Enterprises	-2.98%	-8.22%	-1.94%

Volatility & Risk

Marubeni has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Icahn Enterprises has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.1% of Marubeni shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.1% of Icahn Enterprises shares are held by institutional investors. 90.1% of Icahn Enterprises shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Marubeni and Icahn Enterprises, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Marubeni	0	1	1	0	2.50
Icahn Enterprises	1	1	0	0	1.50

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Marubeni and Icahn Enterprises”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Marubeni	$51.16 billion	1.12	$3.32 billion	$20.78	16.70
Icahn Enterprises	$9.30 billion	0.51	-$299.00 million	($0.60)	-12.47

Marubeni has higher revenue and earnings than Icahn Enterprises. Icahn Enterprises is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Marubeni, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Marubeni pays an annual dividend of $5.02 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Icahn Enterprises pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 26.7%. Marubeni pays out 24.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Icahn Enterprises pays out -333.3% 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. Icahn Enterprises is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Marubeni beats Icahn Enterprises on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Marubeni

Marubeni Corporation engages in various business activities. It manufactures, wholesales, and retails apparel, footwear, home furnishing and sport goods, industrial and textile materials, tire and rubber materials, and household and nursing care products; develops uranium, nuclear fuel cycle, iron ore, coking coal, copper mines, and related equipment and services; smelts and refines aluminum and magnesium; leases temporary steel construction materials; explores for, develops, and produces oil and gas; manages infrastructure funds; and develops and manages real estate. The company also offers insurance, technical, ICT, and logistic services; agri-inputs; fertilizer and crop protection product contracting services; crop protection product formulations; wood chips, biomass fuels, pulp and waste papers, paper, paperboards, sanitary, and building and construction materials; engineering, procurement, and construction services; and operation and maintenance services. It trades in fertilizers, dairy, agricultural, and marine products; sugar, processed food, beverages raw materials, and commercial use food materials; grains, oilseeds, feed ingredients, compound feeds, fresh and processed meat, petrochemicals, plastics, salts, chlor-alkalis, life science products, electronic materials, fertilizer materials, and inorganic mineral resources and chemicals; steelmaking raw materials, ferroalloys, nonferrous metals, and steel products; cement and ingots related materials; and petroleum and LPG. The company engages in infrastructure; water; automotive finance; power generation; power service and retail; natural gas; hydrogen; and fuel ammonia businesses. It owns, purchases, operates, leases, sells, and charters aerospace and ship products; leases refrigerated trailers, commercial vehicles, and freight cars; and sells, trades in, leases, finances, and services construction and industrial machinery, and mobility products. The company was founded in 1858 and is based in Tokyo, Japan.

About Icahn Enterprises

Icahn Enterprises L.P., through its subsidiaries, engages in the investment, energy, automotive, food packaging, real estate, home fashion, and pharma businesses in the United States and Internationally. The Investment segment invests its proprietary capital through various private investment funds. This segment provides investment advisory and other related services. The Energy segment refines and markets transportation fuels in the form of gasoline and diesel fuels, as well as renewable diesel; and manufactures nitrogen fertilizers in the form of urea ammonium nitrate and ammonia. The Automotive segment sells automotive parts and materials, and retailed merchandise; offers automotive repair and maintenance services; and leases real estate properties. The Food Packaging segment produces and sells cellulosic, fibrous, and plastic casings that are used to prepare and package processed meat products. The Real Estate segment is involved in the leasing of land, retail, office, and industrial properties; the development and sale of single-family homes; and the operation of country clubs. The Home Fashion segment manufactures, sources, markets, distributes, and sells home fashion consumer products. The Pharma segment offers pharmaceutical products and services. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida.