Tokuyama (OTCMKTS:TKYMY) and Olin (NYSE:OLN) Head-To-Head Review

Olin (NYSE:OLN) and Tokuyama (OTCMKTS:TKYMY) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Olin and Tokuyama’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Olin	-0.63%	-0.48%	-0.12%
Tokuyama	7.42%	9.05%	5.00%

Volatility & Risk

Olin has a beta of 1.56, meaning that its share price is 56% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tokuyama has a beta of 0.12, meaning that its share price is 88% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

88.7% of Olin shares are held by institutional investors. 1.6% of Olin shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Olin and Tokuyama, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Olin	3	12	2	1	2.06
Tokuyama	0	0	0	0	0.00

Olin currently has a consensus price target of $23.73, suggesting a potential upside of 0.09%. Given Olin’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Olin is more favorable than Tokuyama.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Olin and Tokuyama”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Olin	$6.78 billion	0.40	-$100.50 million	($0.38)	-62.40
Tokuyama	$2.25 billion	0.76	$154.35 million	$1.17	10.15

Tokuyama has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Olin. Olin is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Tokuyama, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Olin pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Tokuyama pays an annual dividend of $0.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Olin pays out -210.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Tokuyama pays out 22.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Olin is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Olin beats Tokuyama on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Olin

Olin Corporation manufactures and distributes chemical products in the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Canada. It operates through three segments: Chlor Alkali Products and Vinyls; Epoxy; and Winchester. The Chlor Alkali Products and Vinyls segment offers chlorine and caustic soda, ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride monomers, methyl chloride, methylene chloride, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, perchloroethylene, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen, bleach products, potassium hydroxide, and chlorinated organics intermediates and solvents. The Epoxy segment provides Allylics, such as allyl chloride, epichlorohydrin, and glycerin; aromatics, including acetone, bisphenol, cumene, and phenol; liquid and solid epoxy resins; and converted epoxy resins and additives. The Winchester segment offers sporting ammunition products, including shotshells, small caliber centerfire, and rimfire ammunition products for hunters and recreational shooters, and law enforcement agencies; small caliber military ammunition products for use in infantry and mounted weapons; and industrial products comprising gauge loads and powder-actuated tool loads for maintenance applications in power and concrete industries, and powder-actuated tools in construction industry. The company markets its products through its sales force, as well as directly to various industrial customers, mass merchants, retailers, wholesalers, gun clubs, other distributors, and the U.S. Government and its prime contractors. Olin Corporation was incorporated in 1892 and is based in Clayton, Missouri.

About Tokuyama

Tokuyama Corporation produces and sells various chemical products in Japan. The company operates through six segments: Chemicals, Cement, Electronics and Advanced Materials, Life Science, Eco Business, and Others. The Chemicals segment offers caustic soda, soda ash, calcium chloride, sodium silicate cullet, sodium bicarbonate, purified, vinyl chloride monomer, polyvinyl chloride resin, propylene oxide, methylene chloride, and chloroform. The Cement segment provides cement, ready-mixed concrete, and cement-type stabilizer, as well as engages in the resource recycling business. The Electronic and Advanced Materials segment provides polycrystalline silicon; fumed silica and tetrachlorosilane; aluminum nitride; high-purity chemicals for electronics manufacturing and photoresist developer; and isopropyl alcohol. The Life Science segment provides medical diagnosis systems, dental materials and equipment, pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates, plastic lens-related materials for glasses, and microporous film. The Eco Business segment offers plastic window sashes, ion exchange membranes, as well as engages in waste gypsum board recycling activity. The company was formerly known as Tokuyama Soda Co., Ltd. and changed its name to Tokuyama Corporation in April 1994. Tokuyama Corporation was incorporated in 1918 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.