Reviewing Basf (OTCMKTS:BASFY) & Rayonier Advanced Materials (NYSE:RYAM)

Rayonier Advanced Materials (NYSE:RYAM) and Basf (OTCMKTS:BASFY) are both materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends and profitability.

Dividends

Rayonier Advanced Materials pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Basf pays an annual dividend of $0.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Rayonier Advanced Materials pays out -13.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Basf pays out 23.7% 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. Rayonier Advanced Materials is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

68.6% of Rayonier Advanced Materials shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Basf shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.2% of Rayonier Advanced Materials shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Rayonier Advanced Materials has a beta of 1.84, meaning that its share price is 84% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Basf has a beta of 0.76, meaning that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Rayonier Advanced Materials and Basf’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Rayonier Advanced Materials	-9.53%	-46.19%	-7.28%
Basf	9.40%	5.66%	2.51%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Rayonier Advanced Materials and Basf”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Rayonier Advanced Materials	$1.47 billion	0.33	-$420.67 million	($2.10)	-3.38
Basf	$67.48 billion	0.78	$1.83 billion	$1.94	7.64

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Rayonier Advanced Materials and Basf, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Rayonier Advanced Materials	1	1	1	0	2.00
Basf	1	3	4	1	2.56

Rayonier Advanced Materials currently has a consensus target price of $13.00, suggesting a potential upside of 82.97%. Given Rayonier Advanced Materials’ higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Rayonier Advanced Materials is more favorable than Basf.

Summary

Basf beats Rayonier Advanced Materials on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Rayonier Advanced Materials

Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. manufactures and sells cellulose specialty products in the United States, China, Latin America, Canada, Japan, Europe, Latin America, other Asian countries, and internationally. It operates through High Purity Cellulose, Paperboard, and High-Yield Pulp segments. The company’s products include cellulose specialties, which are natural polymers that are used as raw materials to manufacture a range of consumer-oriented products, such as liquid crystal displays, impact-resistant plastics, thickeners for food products, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, cigarette filters, high-tenacity rayon yarn for tires and industrial hoses, food casings, paints, and lacquers. It also offers commodity products, such as commodity viscose pulp used in woven applications, including rayon textiles for clothing and other fabrics, as well as in non-woven applications comprising baby wipes, cosmetic and personal wipes, industrial wipes, and mattress ticking; and absorbent materials consisting of fluff fibers that are used as an absorbent medium in disposable baby diapers, feminine hygiene products, incontinence pads, convalescent bed pads, industrial towels and wipes, and non-woven fabrics. In addition, the company provides paperboards for packaging, printing documents, brochures, promotional materials, paperback books and catalog covers, file folders, tags, and lottery tickets; and high-yield pulps to produces hardwood aspen, maple, and birch species for paperboard, packaging, printing and writing papers, and various other paper products. The company was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.

About Basf

BASF SE operates as a chemical company worldwide. It operates through six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care, and Agricultural Solutions. The Chemicals segment provides petrochemicals and intermediates. The Materials segment offers advanced materials and their precursors for applications and systems comprising isocyanates, polyamides, and inorganic basic products, as well as specialties for plastics and plastics processing industries. The Industrial Solutions segment develops and markets ingredients and additives for industrial applications, such as polymer dispersions, resins, additives, electronic materials, and antioxidants for automotive, plastics, paints and coatings, electronics, and energy and resource industries. The Surface Technologies segment provides automotive OEM and refinish coatings, surface treatment, catalysts, battery materials, and precious and base metal services for the automotive and chemical sectors. The Nutrition & Care segment offers ingredients for consumer goods in the areas of nutrition, home, personal care, and technical applications; and serves the food and feed producers, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, detergents, cleaners, and crop protection industries, as well as fast-moving consumer goods sector. The Agricultural Solutions segment provides seeds and seed treatment products; fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and biological crop protection products; and digital farming solutions. The company engages in engineering and other; rental and leasing; and commodity trading activities. BASF SE was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany.