Head to Head Analysis: Celanese (NYSE:CE) versus Northern Technologies International (NASDAQ:NTIC)

Celanese (NYSE:CE) and Northern Technologies International (NASDAQ:NTIC) are both materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends and valuation.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Celanese and Northern Technologies International”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Celanese	$9.54 billion	0.54	-$1.17 billion	($10.69)	-4.40
Northern Technologies International	$84.24 million	0.88	$20,000.00	($0.12)	-65.00

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

98.9% of Celanese shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 32.9% of Northern Technologies International shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Celanese shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 24.9% of Northern Technologies International shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Celanese and Northern Technologies International, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Celanese	1	7	9	1	2.56
Northern Technologies International	1	1	0	0	1.50

Celanese currently has a consensus price target of $63.27, suggesting a potential upside of 34.58%. Given Celanese’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Celanese is more favorable than Northern Technologies International.

Profitability

This table compares Celanese and Northern Technologies International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Celanese	-12.04%	13.04%	2.69%
Northern Technologies International	-1.26%	-0.45%	-0.33%

Volatility & Risk

Celanese has a beta of 0.76, meaning that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Northern Technologies International has a beta of 0.18, meaning that its stock price is 82% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Celanese beats Northern Technologies International on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Celanese

Celanese Corporation, a chemical and specialty materials company, manufactures and sells high performance engineered polymers in the United States and internationally. It operates through Engineered Materials and Acetyl Chain. The Engineered Materials segment develops, produces, and supplies specialty polymers for automotive and medical applications, as well as for use in industrial products and consumer electronics. The Acetyl Chain segment produces and supplies acetyl products, including acetic acid, vinyl acetate monomers, acetic anhydride, and acetate esters that are used as starting materials for colorants, paints, adhesives, coatings, and pharmaceuticals; and organic solvents and intermediates for pharmaceutical, agricultural, and chemical products. It also offers vinyl acetate-based emulsions for use in paints and coatings, adhesives, construction, glass fiber, textiles, and paper applications; and ethylene vinyl acetate resins and compounds, as well as low-density polyethylene for use in flexible packaging films, lamination film products, hot melt adhesives, automotive parts, and carpeting applications. In addition, it provides redispersible powders (RDP) for use in construction applications, including flooring, plasters, insulation, tiling, and waterproofing. Celanese Corporation was founded in 1918 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.

About Northern Technologies International

Northern Technologies International Corporation develops and markets rust and corrosion inhibiting solutions in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and internationally. It offers rust and corrosion inhibiting products, such as plastic and paper packaging, liquids, coatings, rust removers, cleaners, diffusers, and engineered solutions designed for the oil and gas industry under the ZERUST brand. The company provides a portfolio of bio-based and certified compostable polymer resin compounds and finished products under the Natur-Tec brand. In addition, it offers on-site and technical consulting for rust and corrosion prevention issues. It sells its products and services to automotive, electronics, electrical, mechanical, military, retail consumer, and oil and gas markets through direct sales force, network of independent distributors, agents, manufacturer's sales representatives, and strategic partners. The company was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Circle Pines, Minnesota.