Reviewing Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) and Givaudan (OTCMKTS:GVDNY)

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) and Givaudan (OTCMKTS:GVDNY) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation and risk.

Dividends

Westlake Chemical Partners pays an annual dividend of $1.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.4%. Givaudan pays an annual dividend of $1.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Westlake Chemical Partners pays out 136.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Westlake Chemical Partners and Givaudan, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Westlake Chemical Partners	0	2	0	0	2.00
Givaudan	2	3	2	0	2.00

Volatility & Risk

Westlake Chemical Partners has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Givaudan has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Westlake Chemical Partners and Givaudan”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Westlake Chemical Partners	$1.17 billion	0.68	$48.70 million	$1.38	16.25
Givaudan	$9.02 billion	3.49	$1.29 billion	N/A	N/A

Givaudan has higher revenue and earnings than Westlake Chemical Partners.

Profitability

This table compares Westlake Chemical Partners and Givaudan’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Westlake Chemical Partners	4.17%	5.99%	3.74%
Givaudan	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider and Institutional Ownership

78.3% of Westlake Chemical Partners shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Givaudan shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Westlake Chemical Partners 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.

About Westlake Chemical Partners

Westlake Chemical Partners LP acquires, develops, and operates ethylene production facilities and related assets in the United States. The company’s ethylene production facilities primarily convert ethane into ethylene. It also sells ethylene co-products, such as propylene, crude butadiene, pyrolysis gasoline, and hydrogen directly to third parties on either a spot or contract basis. Westlake Chemical Partners GP LLC serves as the general partner of the company. Westlake Chemical Partners LP was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Givaudan

Givaudan SA manufactures, supplies, and sells fragrance, beauty, taste, and wellbeing products to the consumer goods industry. The company operates through divisions, Fragrance & Beauty, and Taste & Wellbeing. The Fragrance & Beauty division offers fine fragrances; consumer products, such as personal, home, fabric, and oral care; fragrance ingredients; and active beauty products. The Taste & Wellbeing division provides beverages, such as fizzy drinks, bottled waters, ready-to-drink juices, alcoholic beverages, and others; dairy and cheese products, including dairy drinks, yoghurt, ice cream, chilled desserts, cream cheese, and spreads; snacks; givaudan flavour ingredients; savory, and supplements and nutraceutical products; and biscuits, crackers, and cereals, as well as confectionery products, such as chewing gums, chocolates, and sweets. It operates in Switzerland, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, North America, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. Givaudan SA was founded in 1796 and is headquartered in Vernier, Switzerland.