Reviewing Tosoh (OTCMKTS:TOSCF) & Tantech (NASDAQ:TANH)

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Tantech and Tosoh, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Tantech	1	0	0	0	1.00
Tosoh	0	0	0	0	0.00

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Tantech 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
Tantech	$42.94 million	0.00	-$3.24 million	N/A	N/A
Tosoh	$6.98 billion	0.78	$382.82 million	$0.72	23.61

Tosoh has higher revenue and earnings 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 hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Tantech	N/A	N/A	N/A
Tosoh	3.29%	5.95%	4.02%

Risk & Volatility

Tantech has a beta of 0.69, meaning that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tosoh has a beta of 0.24, meaning that its stock price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Tosoh beats Tantech on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

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.