Tosoh (OTCMKTS:TOSCF) & Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Critical Survey

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) and Tosoh (OTCMKTS:TOSCF) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Air Products and Chemicals and Tosoh, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Air Products and Chemicals	0	6	10	0	2.63
Tosoh	0	0	0	0	0.00

Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus price target of $300.88, indicating a potential upside of 7.13%. Given Air Products and Chemicals’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Air Products and Chemicals is more favorable than Tosoh.

Volatility and Risk

Air Products and Chemicals has a beta of 0.88, indicating that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tosoh has a beta of 0.24, indicating that its share price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Air Products and Chemicals and Tosoh”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Air Products and Chemicals	$12.04 billion	5.20	-$394.50 million	($1.51)	-186.00
Tosoh	$6.98 billion	0.78	$382.82 million	$0.72	23.61

Tosoh has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Air Products and Chemicals. Air Products and Chemicals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Tosoh, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

81.7% of Air Products and Chemicals shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.9% of Air Products and Chemicals shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Air Products and Chemicals and Tosoh’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Air Products and Chemicals	-2.73%	15.77%	6.75%
Tosoh	3.29%	5.95%	4.02%

Summary

Air Products and Chemicals beats Tosoh on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Air Products and Chemicals

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. provides atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, equipment, and related services in the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, India, and internationally. The company produces atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, and argon; process gases, such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and syngas; and specialty gases for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, manufacturing, electronics, energy production, medical, food, and metals. It also designs and manufactures equipment for air separation, hydrocarbon recovery and purification, natural gas liquefaction, and liquid helium and liquid hydrogen transport and storage. The company was founded in 1940 and is headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

About Tosoh

Tosoh Corporation manufactures and sells basic chemicals, petrochemicals, specialty products, and fine chemicals worldwide. It operates through four segments: Petrochemical, Chlor-Alkali, Specialty, and Engineering. The company provides advance materials, including battery, fabricated quartzware, silica glass, thin film depositions, zeolites for catalysts and molecular sieves, zirconia injection mold components and compounds, zirconia grinding and dispersion media, and zirconia fine beads and powders. It also offers chromatographic columns, and media and diagnostic systems; clinical diagnostic systems; Portland cement and blast-furnace slag cement; and caustic soda, vinyl chloride monomer, calcium hypochlorite, and sodium bicarbonate. In addition, the company provides ethylene, propylene, C4 fraction, tertiary butyl alcohol, cumene, and aromatic compounds; and ethyleneamines, bromine, hydrobromic acids, flame retardants, non-aqueous solvents, chelating agents, ethylene dichloride, and sodium styrenesulfonate. Further, it offers polymers, such as ethylene vinyl-acetate copolymers, adhesive polymers, low and high-density polyethylene products, synthetic rubbers, functional polymers, and polyvinyl chloride pastes; and polyurethanes (PU), including methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, toluene diisocyanate, hexamethylene diisocyanate, adhesives, coating resins, elastomers, polyisocyanates for PU paints, and polyols. The company manufactures and sells water treatment systems; and engages in the construction and repair businesses. It serves chemical and petrochemical, construction, automotive, consumer electronics, information technology, bioscience, and environmental markets. The company was incorporated in 1935 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.