Nissan Chemical (OTCMKTS:NNCHY) and Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Financial Contrast

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

Dividends

Nissan Chemical pays an annual dividend of $0.57 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Westlake Chemical Partners pays an annual dividend of $1.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.3%. Nissan Chemical pays out 24.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Westlake Chemical Partners pays out 114.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Nissan Chemical and Westlake Chemical Partners”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nissan Chemical	$1.65 billion	3.83	$284.08 million	$2.29	20.50
Westlake Chemical Partners	$1.23 billion	0.65	$48.70 million	$1.64	13.85

Nissan Chemical has higher revenue and earnings than Westlake Chemical Partners. Westlake Chemical Partners is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Nissan Chemical, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Nissan Chemical and Westlake Chemical Partners, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nissan Chemical	0	1	0	0	2.00
Westlake Chemical Partners	0	2	0	0	2.00

Institutional and Insider Ownership

78.3% of Westlake Chemical Partners shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Westlake Chemical Partners shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Nissan Chemical has a beta of -0.02, suggesting that its share price is 102% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Westlake Chemical Partners has a beta of 0.52, suggesting that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nissan Chemical	17.07%	19.08%	13.77%
Westlake Chemical Partners	4.69%	7.15%	4.57%

Summary

Nissan Chemical beats Westlake Chemical Partners on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nissan Chemical

Nissan Chemical Corporation engages in the chemicals, performance materials, agricultural chemicals, and pharmaceuticals businesses in Japan and internationally. The company provides high purity chemicals; AdBlue, an urea solution; ammonia, sulfuric, and nitric acid, as well as concrete and civil engineering-related products; TEPIC, an epoxy compound; Melamine Cyanurate, a salt of melamine and iso cyanuric acid; TEPIC-VL, a liquid epoxy compound; TEPIC-FL, a liquid epoxy material; FOLDI-E101, an epoxy reactive diluent; Ecopromote, a nucleating agents for PLA; Nissan Reishi, a health food; phenylphosphonic acid; HI-LITE, a chlorinated isocyanulate; OPTBEADS, a melamine-formaldehyde resin and silica; and FINEOXOCOL, a saturated fatty alcohol and acid. It also offers performance materials comprising display, semiconductor, and inorganic materials; agricultural chemicals, such as herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, etc. for use on agricultural land, as well as in golf courses and parks; and drug substances for antiparasite drugs for animals. In addition, the company provides pharmaceutical products, such as LIVALO, a antihypercholesterolemic agent; LANDEL and FINTE, a long-acting calcium channel blocker; APIs and intermediaries; and manufacturing and process researching services for pharmaceutical ingredients. Further, it develops healthcare, information and communication materials, and environmental and energy materials. The company was formerly known as Nissan Chemical Industries, Ltd. and changed its name to Nissan Chemical Corporation in July 2018. Nissan Chemical Corporation was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

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.