AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) versus Crown (NYSE:CCK) Critical Contrast

Crown (NYSE:CCK) and AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) are both materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Crown and AptarGroup”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Crown	$12.37 billion	0.95	$738.00 million	$6.95	15.52
AptarGroup	$3.78 billion	2.03	$392.79 million	$5.53	21.80

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Crown and AptarGroup, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Crown	0	5	12	0	2.71
AptarGroup	0	3	5	0	2.62

Crown presently has a consensus price target of $127.73, suggesting a potential upside of 18.43%. AptarGroup has a consensus price target of $172.80, suggesting a potential upside of 43.33%. Given AptarGroup’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe AptarGroup is more favorable than Crown.

Risk & Volatility

Crown has a beta of 0.56, meaning that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AptarGroup has a beta of 0.34, meaning that its stock price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Crown pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. AptarGroup pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Crown pays out 20.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. AptarGroup pays out 34.7% 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. Crown has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years and AptarGroup has raised its dividend for 31 consecutive years. AptarGroup is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Crown and AptarGroup’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Crown	5.91%	27.33%	6.52%
AptarGroup	9.22%	13.31%	6.96%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

90.9% of Crown shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.5% of AptarGroup shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Crown shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of AptarGroup shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Crown beats AptarGroup on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Crown

Crown Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the packaging business in the United States and internationally. It operates through Americas Beverage, European Beverage, Asia Pacific, and Transit Packaging segments. The company manufactures and sells recyclable aluminum beverage cans and ends, glass bottles, steel crowns, aluminum caps, non-beverage cans, and aerosol cans and closures. It also provides manual, semi-automatic, and automatic equipment and tools to apply and remove consumables, such as straps and films; protective solutions, including airbags, edge protectors, and honeycomb products; and steel and plastic consumables include steel strap, plastic strap, industrial film, and other related products. The company serves food industries, including pet food, personal care, household, and industrial products. Crown Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1892 and is headquartered in Yardley, Pennsylvania.

About AptarGroup

AptarGroup, Inc. designs and manufactures a range of drug delivery, consumer product dispensing, and active material science solutions and services for the pharmaceutical, beauty, personal care, home care, and food and beverage markets. The company operates through Aptar Pharma, Aptar Beauty, and Aptar Closures segments. It also provides pumps for nasal allergy treatments; and metered dose inhaler valves for respiratory ailments, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases; elastomer for injectable primary packaging components; and active material science solutions. In addition, the company offers dispensing pumps, closures, elastomeric components, and aerosol valves to the digital health solutions. It primarily sells its products and services in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. AptarGroup, Inc. was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in Crystal Lake, Illinois.