Contrasting Lsb Industries (NYSE:LXU) & Olin (NYSE:OLN)

Lsb Industries (NYSE:LXU) and Olin (NYSE:OLN) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lsb Industries	7.16%	8.91%	3.96%
Olin	-1.89%	-4.68%	-1.18%

Volatility and Risk

Lsb Industries has a beta of 0.31, suggesting that its stock price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Olin has a beta of 1.17, suggesting that its stock price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

73.7% of Lsb Industries shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.7% of Olin shares are held by institutional investors. 3.0% of Lsb Industries shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Olin shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Lsb Industries and Olin”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lsb Industries	$615.21 million	1.53	$24.61 million	$0.63	20.71
Olin	$6.72 billion	0.44	-$100.50 million	($1.12)	-22.96

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Lsb Industries and Olin, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lsb Industries	0	5	0	0	2.00
Olin	2	10	3	1	2.19

Lsb Industries presently has a consensus price target of $15.33, indicating a potential upside of 17.53%. Olin has a consensus price target of $28.08, indicating a potential upside of 9.19%. Given Lsb Industries’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Lsb Industries is more favorable than Olin.

Summary

Lsb Industries beats Olin on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lsb Industries

LSB Industries, Inc. engages in the manufacture, marketing, and sale of chemical products. The company provides nitrogen-based fertilizers, such as ammonia, fertilizer grade high density ammonium nitrate (HDAN), and urea ammonia nitrate for fertilizer for corn, pastures, and other crops, as well as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) fertilizer blends application. It also offers high purity and commercial grade ammonia, high purity ammonium nitrate, sulfuric acids, mixed nitrating acids, carbon dioxide, and diesel exhaust fluids, as well as concentrated, and blended and regular nitric acids for various applications, including semiconductor, nylon, and polyurethane intermediates, ammonium nitrate, and metal processing; chemical feedstocks, emissions abatement, water treatments, and refrigerants; pulp and paper, aluminum, water treatment, metals, and vanadium processing; abatement for diesel vehicles; and food refrigeration, dry ice, and enhanced oil recovery. In addition, the company provides industrial grade and low density ammonium nitrate, and ammonium nitrate for explosives mining, quarries, and other blasting activities. It sells its products through distributors, as well as directly to end customers in the United States and other parts of North America. The company serves to the agricultural, industrial, and mining markets. LSB Industries, Inc. was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

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.