Contrasting Covestro (OTCMKTS:COVTY) & Northern Technologies International (NASDAQ:NTIC)

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Northern Technologies International and Covestro, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Northern Technologies International	1	1	0	0	1.50
Covestro	0	1	0	0	2.00

Volatility and Risk

Northern Technologies International has a beta of 0.15, indicating that its share price is 85% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Covestro has a beta of 0.97, indicating that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

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

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Northern Technologies International and Covestro”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Northern Technologies International	$84.24 million	0.87	$20,000.00	($0.12)	-64.25
Covestro	$14.64 billion	0.94	-$728.62 million	($2.53)	-13.04

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Northern Technologies International	-1.26%	-0.45%	-0.33%
Covestro	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Covestro beats Northern Technologies International on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Covestro

Covestro AG supplies high-tech polymer materials and application solutions. It operates in two segments, Performance Materials, and Solutions & Specialties. The Performance Materials segment develops, produces, and supplies high-performance materials, such as polyurethanes and polycarbonates, and base chemicals, which include diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), toluylene diisocyanate, long-chain polyols, and polycarbonate resins for use in furniture and wood processing, construction, automotive, and transportation industries, as well as roof structures, insulation for buildings and refrigerators, mattresses, car seats, and other applications. The Solutions & Specialties segment comprises a range of polymer products, including polycarbonates, precursors for coatings and adhesives, MDI specialties and polyols, thermoplastic polyurethanes, specialty films, and elastomers that are used in automotive and transportation, electrical, electronics and household appliances, construction, and healthcare industries, as well as composite resins for solar panel frames, laptops, floodlights, and electric vehicle batteries. The company markets its products through trading houses and distributors. It operates in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, the United States, Canada, and the People's Republic of China. The company was founded in 1863 and is headquartered in Leverkusen, Germany.