Contrasting SIKA (OTCMKTS:SXYAY) and Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX)

Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) and SIKA (OTCMKTS:SXYAY) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk and profitability.

Risk & Volatility

Minerals Technologies has a beta of 1.24, meaning that its stock price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SIKA has a beta of 0.02, meaning that its stock price is 98% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

97.3% of Minerals Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 3.3% of Minerals Technologies shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Minerals Technologies and SIKA”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Minerals Technologies	$2.07 billion	1.02	-$18.40 million	($0.51)	-133.46
SIKA	$13.52 billion	2.13	$1.26 billion	N/A	N/A

SIKA has higher revenue and earnings than Minerals Technologies.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Minerals Technologies and SIKA, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Minerals Technologies	1	1	1	0	2.00
SIKA	1	3	2	3	2.78

Minerals Technologies presently has a consensus target price of $89.00, suggesting a potential upside of 30.76%. Given Minerals Technologies’ higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Minerals Technologies is more favorable than SIKA.

Profitability

This table compares Minerals Technologies and SIKA’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Minerals Technologies	-0.89%	10.22%	5.03%
SIKA	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

Minerals Technologies pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. SIKA pays an annual dividend of $0.09 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Minerals Technologies pays out -94.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Minerals Technologies has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Minerals Technologies is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Minerals Technologies beats SIKA on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Minerals Technologies

Minerals Technologies Inc. develops, produces, and markets various mineral, mineral-based, and related systems and services. The company operates through two segments, Consumer & Specialties, and Engineered Solutions segments. The Consumer & Specialties segment offers household and personal care products, such as pet litter, personal care, fabric care, edible oil and other fluid purification, animal health, and agricultural products; and specialty additives products, including precipitated calcium carbonate and ground calcium carbonate products that are used in the paper, paperboard, and fiber based packaging industries, as well as automotive, construction, and table and food applications. This segment produces limestone and dolomitic limestone used in construction, automotive, and consumer markets for packaging applications. The Engineered Solutions segment provides high-temperature technology products consisting of custom-blended mineral and non-mineral products for casting auto parts, farm and construction equipment, oil and gas production equipment, power generation turbine castings, and rail car components; and environmental and infrastructure products comprising geosynthetic clay lining systems, vapor intrusion mitigation products, sub surface waterproofing systems, green roofs, wastewater remediation, drinking water purification technologies, and drilling products. In addition, this segment provides chromite products; gunnable monolithic refractory products and application systems; monolithic refractory materials and pre-cast refractory shapes; refractory shapes and linings; carbon composite and pyrolitic graphite; and filtration and well testing services. It markets its products primarily through its direct sales force, as well as regional distributors. The company serves in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Minerals Technologies Inc. was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About SIKA

Sika AG, a specialty chemicals company, develops, produces, and sells systems and products for bonding, sealing, damping, reinforcing, and protecting in the building sector and motor vehicle industry worldwide. The company offers tile adhesives and grouts, systems for under-tile waterproofing, sound reduction, renders, decorative finishes for exterior and interior walls, as well as exterior insulation finishing system; develops admixtures and additives for concrete, cement, and mortar production; and flat roofing systems. It also provides a range of technologies used for below and above-ground waterproofing, including flexible membrane systems, liquid-applied membranes, joint waterproofing systems, and waterproofing mortars and injection resins for commercial and residential basements, tunnels, bridges, and various types of water-retaining structures, such as reservoirs, storage basins, and storage tanks. In addition, the company offers flooring solutions, such as synthetic resin and cementitious systems for industrial and commercial buildings; and sealants, adhesives, tapes, and spray foams for the building facades, interior finishing, and infrastructure projects. Further, it provides repairing, reinforcing, and protective solutions for concrete structures, such as repair mortars, shrinking grouts, anchoring adhesives, protective coatings, corrosion control, and structural strengthening systems. The company serves automobile and commercial vehicle assembly, automotive aftermarket, marine vessel, industrial lamination, renewable energy, home appliance, and facade engineering industries. The company was founded in 1910 and is headquartered in Baar, Switzerland.