Critical Contrast: Air Liquide (OTCMKTS:AIQUY) & DuPont de Nemours (NYSE:DD)

DuPont de Nemours (NYSE:DD) and Air Liquide (OTCMKTS:AIQUY) are both large-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability, dividends and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares DuPont de Nemours and Air Liquide”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
DuPont de Nemours	$6.85 billion	2.99	-$779.00 million	($1.86)	-26.91
Air Liquide	$30.47 billion	3.99	$3.98 billion	N/A	N/A

Air Liquide has higher revenue and earnings than DuPont de Nemours.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for DuPont de Nemours and Air Liquide, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
DuPont de Nemours	1	3	12	1	2.76
Air Liquide	0	3	2	0	2.40

DuPont de Nemours currently has a consensus price target of $51.86, suggesting a potential upside of 3.62%. Given DuPont de Nemours’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe DuPont de Nemours is more favorable than Air Liquide.

Profitability

This table compares DuPont de Nemours and Air Liquide’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
DuPont de Nemours	-7.03%	7.37%	4.69%
Air Liquide	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional and Insider Ownership

74.0% of DuPont de Nemours shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Air Liquide shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of DuPont de Nemours shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

DuPont de Nemours has a beta of 1.1, indicating that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Air Liquide has a beta of 0.84, indicating that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

DuPont de Nemours pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Air Liquide pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. DuPont de Nemours pays out -43.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

DuPont de Nemours beats Air Liquide on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About DuPont de Nemours

DuPont de Nemours, Inc. provides technology-based materials and solutions in the United States, Canada, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates through Electronics & Industrial, Water & Protection, and Corporate & Other segments. The Electronics & Industrial segment supplies materials and solutions for the fabrication of semiconductors and integrated circuits. This segment also provides semiconductor and advanced packaging materials; dielectric and metallization solutions for chip packaging; and silicones for light emitting diode packaging and semiconductor applications; permanent and process chemistries for the fabrication of printed circuit boards to include laminates and substrates, and electroless and electrolytic metallization solutions, and electromagnetic shielding and thermal management solutions, as well as patterning solutions, and materials and metallization processes for metal finishing, decorative, and industrial applications. In addition, it offers various materials to manufacture rigid and flexible displays for organic light emitting diode, and other display applications; provides high performance parts, and specialty silicone elastomers, and lubricants to automotive, aerospace, electronics, industrial, and healthcare markets; and photopolymer plates and platemaking systems used in flexographic printing, and digital inks for textile, commercial, and home-office printing applications. The Water & Protection segment provides engineered products and integrated systems for worker safety, water purification and separation, transportation, energy, medical packaging and building materials. The Corporate & Other segment offers auto adhesives and fluids; Multibase; and Tedlar products. The company was formerly known as DowDuPont Inc. and changed its name to DuPont de Nemours, Inc. in June 2019. DuPont de Nemours, Inc. was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware.

About Air Liquide

L'Air Liquide S.A. provides gases, technologies, and services for the industrial and health sectors in Europe, the Americas, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates in Gas & Services, Engineering & Construction, and Global Markets & Technologies segments. The Gas & Services segment comprises large industries business, which offers gas and energy solutions including oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide, as well as operates cogeneration plants to supply steam and electricity to metals, chemicals, refining, and energy industries; and industrial merchant business line provides industrial gases, equipment, hardgoods, and associated services to materials and energy, automotive and manufacturing, food and pharmaceuticals, technology and research, and craftsmen and retail sectors. This segment also includes healthcare business, which provides medical gases, home healthcare services, medical equipment, and specialty ingredient to patients, healthcare professionals, and hospitals; and electronic business supply carrier gases, electronic specialty and advanced materials, equipment and installation, and service to semiconductor, flat panel, and photovoltaic markets. The Engineering & Construction segment designs, develops, and builds industrial gas production plants to third parties; and design and manufacture plants in traditional, renewable and alternative energy sectors. The Global Markets & Technologies segment delivers technological solutions, such as molecules, equipment, and services to energy transition and deep technology. This segment also invests in and operates biomethane production units; designs hydrogen refueling stations; and supplies gases for the offshore oil and gas platforms, offshore wind turbines, and cryogenic transportation by sea. L'Air Liquide S.A. was incorporated in 1902 and is headquartered in Paris, France.