Critical Contrast: Tantech (NASDAQ:TANH) versus Brenntag (OTCMKTS:BNTGY)

Brenntag (OTCMKTS:BNTGY) and Tantech (NASDAQ:TANH) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, valuation and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Brenntag and Tantech, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Brenntag	1	7	0	0	1.88
Tantech	1	0	0	0	1.00

Brenntag currently has a consensus price target of $12.80, indicating a potential downside of 3.10%. Given Brenntag’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Brenntag is more favorable than Tantech.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

6.0% of Tantech shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.8% of Tantech shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Brenntag and Tantech”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Brenntag	$17.16 billion	0.56	$299.37 million	$0.37	35.70
Tantech	$38.36 million	0.07	-$31.02 million	N/A	N/A

Brenntag has higher revenue and earnings than Tantech.

Profitability

This table compares Brenntag and Tantech’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Brenntag	1.55%	5.28%	2.13%
Tantech	N/A	N/A	N/A

Risk & Volatility

Brenntag has a beta of 0.65, suggesting that its share price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tantech has a beta of 0.59, suggesting that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Brenntag beats Tantech on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Brenntag

Brenntag SE purchases and supplies various industrial and specialty chemicals, and ingredients in Germany, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Brenntag Essentials and Brenntag Specialties. It provides just-in-time delivery, product mixing, blending, repackaging, inventory management, and drum return handling. The company serves customers in various end-market industries, including nutrition, pharma, personal care, water treatment, and lubricants; and home, industrial, and institutional markets, as well as coatings and constructions, polymers, and rubber industries. The company was founded in 1874 and is based in Essen, Germany.

About Tantech

Tantech Holdings Ltd, together with its subsidiaries, develops and manufactures bamboo-based charcoal products for industrial energy, household cooking, heating, purification, agricultural, and cleaning applications in the People's Republic of China and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Consumer Products, Electric Vehicles, and Biodegradable Packaging. It provides pressed and formed charcoal briquettes for use in grills, incense burners, and other applications under the Algold brand. The company also offers Charcoal Doctor branded products, such as air purifiers and humidifiers, automotive accessories for air purification, underfloor humidity control products, pillows and mattresses, wardrobe deodorizers, mouse pads and wrist mats, refrigerator deodorants, charcoal toilet cleaner disks, liquid charcoal cleaners, shoe insoles, and decorative charcoal gifts. In addition, it provides bamboo vinegar, a liquid byproduct for use in disinfectants, detergents, lotions, specialized soaps, toilet cleaners, and fertilizers, as well as in various agricultural applications; and trades in charcoal products. Further, the company develops and sells electric buses, electric logistics cars, and specialty electric vehicles, such as brushless cleaning cars, electric cleaning cars, special emergency vehicles, and funeral cars; and solar cells, lithium-ion batteries, auto parts, and electric control systems. It is also involved in the biodegradable packaging and supply chain businesses, as well as provides commercial factoring services. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Lishui, the People's Republic of China.